Myth-Making on Taxes

Governments run on taxes—and the more extensive the array of government functions, the heavier the burden of taxation. Frequently, therefore, the grand struggles over the size and function of government are mirrored in battles over the proper tax structure. In this running dispute, limited-government figures from Adam Smith to the present have championed a broad tax base with low, flat taxes. (Count me in.) In contrast, modern social-welfare theorists are more agnostic on the tax base, but insist on steeply progressive rates to fund such welfare rights as education, housing, and medical care.

Mr. Epstein is a professor of law at the University of Chicago, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

About the Author

Richard A. Epstein

Richard A. Epstein is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, the Peter and Kirstin Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law Emeritus and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago. His many books include The Dubious Morality of Modern Administrative Law.

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Governments run on taxes—and the more extensive the array of government functions, the heavier the burden of taxation. Frequently, therefore, the grand struggles over the size and function of government are mirrored in battles over the proper tax structure. In this running dispute, limited-government figures from Adam Smith to the present have championed a broad tax base with low, flat taxes. (Count me in.) In contrast, modern social-welfare theorists are more agnostic on the tax base, but insist on steeply progressive rates to fund such welfare rights as education, housing, and medical care.

Mr. Epstein is a professor of law at the University of Chicago, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

About the Author

Richard A. Epstein

Richard A. Epstein is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, the Peter and Kirstin Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law Emeritus and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago. His many books include The Dubious Morality of Modern Administrative Law.