Fairness in Taxation

Book excerpt: While most would agree that taxation should be fair, views as to what constitutes a fair tax vary. Economists and political philosophers since the days of Adam Smith have recognized two broad concepts of fair taxation. One such principle is known as the benefit principle, under which taxes should be levied in proportion to the benefits received from the public sector. Under this principle, it is the government's job to view taxes as the prices that would prevail in an actual market for the government service. The second principle is known as the ability to pay principle. This principle focuses only on the tax side of the budget, and views taxation as imposing an aggregate cost that must be apportioned in a manner that taxes those with equal ability to pay equally, and imposes greater burdens on those with greater ability to pay. This book discusses the fairness and tax policies in the U.S., and provides the 2011 distribution of household income and federal taxes.