Anthropology of freedom and tax justice: between exchange and gift. Thoughts for an interdisciplinary research agenda

Paolo Silvestri ()

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: With this paper I try to sketch a research agenda on the basis of which humanities and social sciences might interact with each other, searching for a human common ground in tax issues. To this purpose I shall proceed as follows: (§2) I will sketch two working hypotheses showing how and why tax system raises anthropological issues at the intersection of Philosophy of law, Politics and Economics; to restrict the field of enquiry, I will then analyse, firstly (§2.1), the most common theories of taxation – benefit-cost principle and ability-to-pay principle – usually meant as attempts to answer the demand for tax justice; and, secondly (§2.2), the issue of freedom in taxation as a problem of legal-political and economic obligation. I will then show how the research might gain some insight from both (§3.1) the literature on homo reciprocans, and (§3.2) the literature on gift-giving, which might allow us to better articulate the demands for justice and freedom, as well as to glimpse the human foundations of a new fiscal democracy.

Keywords: freedom; justice; tax; ability-to-pay principle; benefit-received principle; gift; exchange; voluntary exchange; trust; reciprocity; fiscal democracy. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A12 A13 D63 D64 H20 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hpe
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Teoria e Critica della Regolazione Sociale 2 (2015): pp. 115-132

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Related works:
Working Paper: Anthropology of Freedom and Tax Justice: Between Exchange and Gift. Thoughts for an Interdisciplinary Research Agenda (2015)
Working Paper: Anthropology of Freedom and Tax Justice: Between Exchange and Gift. Thoughts for an Interdisciplinary Research Agenda (2015)
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