The Myth of Neutral Taxation

Murray N. Rothbard
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Murray N. Rothbard: Polytechnic Institute of New York

Cato Journal, 1981, vol. 1, issue 2, 519-564

Abstract: Economists have long believed that government’s tax and expendi- ture policy either is, or can readily be made to be, neutral to the market. Free-market economists have advocated such neutrality of government, and even economists favoring redistributive actions by government have believed that the service activities and the re- distributive activities of government can easily be distinguished, at least in concept. The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and implications of fiscally neutral government; the paper argues that all government activities necessari(y divert incomes, re- sources, and assets from the market, and therefore that the quest for a neutral tax or expenditure policy is an impossible one and the concept a myth...

Keywords: property rights; land; regulation; government; forest; wildlife; free markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1981
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cto:journl:v:1:y:1981:i:2:p:519-564

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