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11 Austl. Tax F. 397 (1994)
The Benefit Theory of Taxation

handle is hein.journals/austraxrum11 and id is 405 raw text is: The Benefit Theory of Taxation Graeme S Cooper * This paper begins by placing tax decisions in a constitutional framework, where political goals constrain economic choices, each affecting decisions about the choice of tax instrument and the allocation of the tax burden. Notions of equality are analysed before turning to the main issue to be explored - the tension between the ability to pay and benefit principles as norms for allocating tax burdens in modern societies. The conflict with social welfare maximisation as an alternative norm is also discussed. The paper elaborates the history of the benefit principle and its modern reincarnations in the works of European theorists and public choice economists. It concludes by exploring both the traditional domain of the benefit theory and its greatest alleged weakness, as a justification for broadly-based income taxation. * Associate Professor, University of Sydney Law School. This paper was written in partial filfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of the Science of Law in the Faculty of Law, Columbia University.

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