Navigation überspringen
Taxing the Rich
Book

Taxing the Rich

A History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe

Princeton UP, 2016 Mehr

automatisch generiertes Audio
automatisch generiertes Audio

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Overview

Recommendation

The degree to which Western developed countries tax their richest citizens isn’t well explained, in part because it tracks a fluctuating value. Professors Kenneth Scheve and David Stasavage find that the two world wars in the 20th century were history’s biggest drivers of higher taxes on the wealthy. The “compensatory arguments” that contemporaneous political policy makers cited equated the sacrifice of soldiers with the rich doing their share by giving up more money in taxes. The professors conclusively prove that these compensatory arguments about the impact of mass military mobilizations best explain 20th century tax rises. They comprehensively dismember most other theories on the subject. Their focused study provides insights that are more surprising and definitive than you would expect. getAbstract recommends the authors’ analysis to historians, policy makers, tax reformers, the rich and those who want to be.

Take-Aways

  • Three arguments typically support fair tax levies: “equal treatment, ability to pay and compensatory” taxation. The first says everyone should pay the same amount in taxes.
  • The second posits that, because the rich have more money, they should sacrifice and pay more taxes in the interest of social equality.
  • Compensatory arguments say the rich should pay more taxes to cover the benefits they receive from the system or to make up for others’ sacrifices that benefit society.

About the Authors

Kenneth Scheve is a professor of political science and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. David Stasavage is a professor in the Wilf Family Department of Politics at New York University.


Comment on this summary or Diskussion beginnen

  • Avatar
  • Avatar
    V. M. 7 years ago
    taxes were there and there would be somebody who did not try to somehow explain their increase than more state spending, the more taxes on citizens but mainly from these taxes the middle class suffers