On the Desirability of Tax Evasion: Conventional versus Constitutional Economic Perspectives

Michael W Spicer

Public Finance = Finances publiques, 1990, vol. 45, issue 1, 119-27

Abstract: Conventional analyses of the desirability of tax evasion assume the following: tax evasion leads to higher tax rates rather than lower revenues; society should maximize the well-being of both evaders and honest taxpayers; and the psychic costs of evasion can be ignored. This paper questions these assumptions and develops a constitutional approach that avoids the difficulties associated with them. The paper asks how individuals in a constitutional setting would view evasion. It is argued that the perceived adequacy of constitutional limits on government taxing powers is relevant in making normative judgements about evasion.

Date: 1990
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pfi:pubfin:v:45:y:1990:i:1:p:119-27

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