Description
Taxation was largely overlooked in 20th century political philosophy. This is a shame, because taxes are a powerful driver of human behaviour and mould the world around us. Think only of the window taxes that shaped architecture in European countries in ways still visible hundreds of years onwards. In the 21st century, philosophers have fortunately started to engage with questions of taxation again. However, an important and normatively significant issue that has not received sufficient attention yet is the choice of tax base: what should be taxed?Many countries predominantly tax labour income and consumption. Developments in the real economy – including slower economic growth, labour market polarisation, and the growing concentration of wealth – have put a strain on fiscal policy formed largely in the years just after 1945. Moreover, even though taxation has strong effects on human behaviour, governments have so far only used it sparsely to address contemporary challenges such as climate change, disruptive technological development, and demographic ageing. These changes and challenges suggest a need to reform the tax base for it to be fit for purpose.
The aim of the Special Issue is to contribute to the cutting-edge of philosophical inquiry into taxation by studying which tax bases can help address 21st century challenges. Topics include land value taxes, carbon taxes, taxes on AI and robotization, novel forms of wealth taxes on individuals and corporations, special taxes on ultra-high net worth individuals, and novel forms of inheritance taxes.
*Confirmed speakers*
Will Abel (IMF) & Tom Parr (University of Warwick) – on egalitarian land taxation
Paul Bou-Habib (University of Essex) & Serena Olsaretti (ICREA – Pompeu Fabra University) – on taxation and migration
Huub Brouwer (Tilburg University) – on the tax base for limitarianism
Tsilly Dagan (Oxford University) & Lisa Herzog (Groningen University) – on taxation and the spatial and temporal scope of work
Paul Forrester (Wharton, University of Pennsylvania) - on grandfathering in taxation
Anca Gheaus (Central European University) – on sharing the costs of childbearing and childrearing through the tax system
Joseph Heath (University of Toronto) – on wealth taxation
Hillel Steiner (University of Manchester) – on land taxation and universal basic income
Ezekiel Vergara (University of Pennsylvania) – on tourist taxation
Edoardo Vignocchi (University of Pavia) – on taxation as a constitutive practice and the buy, borrow, die strategy
The special issue will be published in April 2028 (but articles will be available before this, in the Advance Articles section of the Monist website).
| Period | 1 Aug 2025 → 1 Apr 2028 |
|---|---|
| Type of journal | Journal |
| ISSN | 0026-9662 |
| Degree of Recognition | International |