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Abstract

Cicero believed that 'revenues were the sinews of the republic' and to this day taxes represent the financial lifeblood of the modem state. Taxes may be essential for governing but raising revenue is inevitably coercive and all too often unpopular. The political dilemmas posed by taxation are certainly age old and were captured nicely in
Jean-Baptiste Colbert's (Louis XIV's finance minister) adage that 'the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing'. If anything the centuries that have passed since Colbert's time have added weight to such claims as all too often political leaders have been reluctant to take the political risks associated with 'ruffling the feathers' of politically powerful
interests as far as tax is concerned. As a consequence taxation policy is often shaped by political expediency rather than coherent design and the policy process tends to be incremental in nature.

Item Type:	Book
Authors/Creators:	Eccleston, RG
Publisher:	Edward Elgar
Additional Information:	© 2007 Richard Eccleston
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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