Adam Smith, paste medallion by James Tassie, 1787; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
Courtesy of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
The 18th-century economist and philosopher Adam Smith attempted to systematize the rules that should govern a rational system of taxation. In The Wealth of Nations (Book V, chapter 2) he set down four general canons:
I. The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.âŠ
II. The tax which each individual is bound to pay ought to be certain, and not arbitrary. The time of payment, the manner of payment, the quantity to be paid, ought all to be clear and plain to the contributor, and to every other person.âŠ
III. Every tax ought to be levied at the time, or in the manner, in which it is most likely to be convenient for the contributor to pay it.âŠ
IV. Every tax ought to be so contrived as both to take out and keep out of the pockets of the people as little as possible over and above what it brings into the public treasury of the state.âŠ
Although they need to be reinterpreted from time to time, these principles retain remarkable relevance. From the first can be derived some leading views about what is fair in the distribution of tax burdens among taxpayers. These are: (1) the belief that taxes should be based on the individualâs ability to pay, known as the ability-to-pay principle, and (2) the benefit principle, the idea that there should be some equivalence between what the individual pays and the benefits he subsequently receives from governmental activities. The fourth of Smithâs canons can be interpreted to underlie the emphasis many economists place on a tax system that does not interfere with market decision making, as well as the more obvious need to avoid complexity and corruption.
Distribution of tax burdens
Various principles, political pressures, and goals can direct a governmentâs tax policy. What follows is a discussion of some of the leading principles that can shape decisions about taxation.
The principle of horizontal equity assumes that persons in the same or similar positions (so far as tax purposes are concerned) will be subject to the same tax liability. In practice this equality principle is often disregarded, both intentionally and unintentionally. Intentional violations are usually motivated more by politics than by sound economic policy (e.g., the tax advantages granted to farmers, home owners, or members of the middle class in general; the exclusion of interest on government securities). Debate over tax reform has often centred on whether deviations from âequal treatment of equalsâ are justified.
The ability-to-pay principle
The ability-to-pay principle requires that the total tax burden will be distributed among individuals according to their capacity to bear it, taking into account all of the relevant personal characteristics. The most suitable taxes from this standpoint are personal levies (income, net worth, consumption, and inheritance taxes). Historically there was common agreement that income is the best indicator of ability to pay. There have, however, been important dissenters from this view, including the 17th-century English philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes and a number of present-day tax specialists. The early dissenters believed that equity should be measured by what is spent (i.e., consumption) rather than by what is earned (i.e., income); modern advocates of consumption-based taxation emphasize the neutrality of consumption-based taxes toward saving (income taxes discriminate against saving), the simplicity of consumption-based taxes, and the superiority of consumption as a measure of an individualâs ability to pay over a lifetime. Some theorists believe that wealth provides a good measure of ability to pay because assets imply some degree of satisfaction (power) and tax capacity, even if (as in the case of an art collection) they generate no tangible income.
The ability-to-pay principle also is commonly interpreted as requiring that direct personal taxes have a progressive rate structure, although there is no way of demonstrating that any particular degree of progressivity is the right one. Because a considerable part of the population does not pay certain direct taxesâsuch as income or inheritance taxesâsome tax theorists believe that a satisfactory redistribution can only be achieved when such taxes are supplemented by direct income transfers or negative income taxes (or refundable credits). Others argue that income transfers and negative income tax create negative incentives; instead, they favour public expenditures (for example, on health or education) targeted toward low-income families as a better means of reaching distributional objectives.
Indirect taxes such as VAT, excise, sales, or turnover taxes can be adapted to the ability-to-pay criterion, but only to a limited extentâfor example, by exempting necessities such as food or by differentiating tax rates according to âurgency of need.â Such policies are generally not very effective; moreover, they distort consumer purchasing patterns, and their complexity often makes them difficult to institute.
Throughout much of the 20th century, prevailing opinion held that the distribution of the tax burden among individuals should reduce the income disparities that naturally result from the market economy; this view was the complete contrary of the 19th-century liberal view that the distribution of income ought to be left alone. By the end of the 20th century, however, many governments recognized that attempts to use tax policy to reduce inequity can create costly distortions, prompting a partial return to the view that taxes should not be used for redistributive purposes.
