Sustainable society – flat tax

László Klicsu

Public Finance Quarterly, 2008, vol. 53, issue 4, 721-737

Abstract: The title of this essay may be surprising at first glance, so it might be a good idea to explain how sustainable society has been coupled with flat taxes. In Hungary – but also in other countries – few would associate flat taxes with support for families, raising children, or marriage. Indeed, there could be a link between them. It is easy to acknowledge that human beings are the ones that carry, generates, and pass on all those complexities that allow them to live as part of a community – the society. Families represent the stage where this transfer is mostly and traditionally done. By considering the role of families, marriage, and the raising of children, one can reach the realisation that the sustainability of any society requires solidarity among the generations of the past, present, and future. When translated into numbers, in modern societies this solidarity is manifested primarily in tax laws and social security laws. The question, therefore, should be rephrased to express whether tax laws could and should have a role in concepts related to sustainable society. And if the role of tax laws should be sought, why could not we take international examples and see whether a regime of flat tax could serve the sustainability of the society? Accordingly, this essay will address demographic first, then certain constitutional requirements related to public burdens, including the institution of marriage and families as well as understanding of the fundamental rights of children in connection with taxation will be dis cussed, followed by a German draft bill of a flat tax system that has received great publicity, its impacts on redistribution as well as arguments against it, and finally a Hungarian study that scrutinised the potential impacts of a Slovakian type flat tax regime in Hungary.

Date: 2008
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