Tax Fairness and Folk Justice [Hardcover]

Demonstrates how a serious consideration of 'folk justice' can deepen our understanding of how tax systems function and how they can perhaps be reformed.Much of the discussion of tax fairness today focuses on distribution  who gets what. But this is too limited a focus. To the average person, tax fairness means something else: primarily receiving benefits commensurate with the taxes one pays, being treated with basic respect by the law and the tax authorities, and respecting legitimate efforts to earn income. The average person is not totally indifferent to inequality, but concerns for redistribution are moderated by the extent to which income and wealth have been perceived to be earned through honest effort. This book demonstrates how an understanding of folk justice can deepen our understanding of how tax systems actually work and how they might potentially be reformed.Much of the discussion of tax fairness today focuses on distribution  who gets what. But this is too limited a focus. To the average person, tax fairness means something else: primarily receiving benefits commensurate with the taxes one pays, being treated with basic respect by the law and the tax authorities, and respecting legitimate efforts to earn income. The average person is not totally indifferent to inequality, but concerns for redistribution are moderated by the extent to which income and wealth have been perceived to be earned through honest effort. This book demonstrates how an understanding of folk justice can deepen our understanding of how tax systems actually work and how they might potentially be reformed.Why have Americans severely limited the estate and gift tax  ostensibly targeted at only the very wealthy  but greatly expanded the subsidies to low-wage workers through the Earned Income Tax Credit, now the single largest poverty program in the country? Why do people hate the property tax so much, yet seemingly revolt against it only during periods of economic change? Why alsO