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引用次数: 0
摘要
以下文章分析了所得税的主要学术支持者、哥伦比亚大学经济学家E. R. A .塞利格曼在1894年所得税被裁定违宪后所作的争论。塞利格曼认为,普遍流行的公正征税理论是错误的,它应该基于对个人和财产的自然权利。这种以自然权利为基础的税收方法的主要美国哲学支持者是布朗大学已故哲学家和经济学家弗朗西斯·韦兰(Francis Wayland)。本文分析了塞利格曼的论点的缺陷,即没有自然权利,因此没有自然产权,因此税收不能被保护这些权利所获得的利益所证明。相反,他声称税收应该取决于一个人的经济能力。由于这种能力可以用净资产来最准确地衡量,我们本以为塞利格曼会支持按比例评估的净资产税(这在19世纪被各州普遍采用)。另外,他主张征收累进式所得税。这篇文章认为,由于收入只是经济能力的一部分,他的论点站不住脚。
WHY INCOME TAXATION? A MORAL AND HISTORICAL INQUIRY
Abstract The following essay analyzes the arguments made by the principal academic proponent of income taxation, Columbia University economist E. R. A Seligman, after it was found to be unconstitutional in 1894. Seligman thought that the prevalent theory of just taxation, that it should be based on a natural right to one’s person and property, was wrong. The principal American philosophical proponent of this natural rights-based approach to taxation was the late Brown University philosopher and economist, Francis Wayland. The essay analyzes the flaws in Seligman’s contention that there are no natural rights and, therefore, no natural property rights, so that taxation could not be justified by the benefits received for the protection of such rights. Instead, he claimed taxation should rest upon a person’s financial capacity. Since that capacity would be most accurately measured by net worth, we would have expected Seligman to endorse a proportionately assessed net worth tax (which was commonly used by the states in the nineteenth century). Alternatively, he argued for an income tax progressively assessed. This essay argues that since income is only a portion of financial capacity, his argument fails.
期刊介绍:
Social Philosophy and Policy is an interdisciplinary journal with an emphasis on the philosophical underpinnings of enduring social policy debates. The issues are thematic in format, examining a specific area of concern with contributions from scholars in different disciplines, especially philosophy, economics, political science and law. While not primarily a journal of policy prescriptions, some articles in each issue will typically connect theory with practice. The 2006 issues are "Justice and Global Politics" and "Taxation, Economic Prosperity, and Distributive Justice". The 2007 issues will be "Liberalism: Old and New" and "Ancient Greek Political Theory".