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Three Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion

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  • Robert McGee

Abstract

In 1944, Martin Crowe, a Catholic priest, wrote a doctoral dissertation titled The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes. His dissertation summarized and analyzed 500 years of theological and philosophical debate on this topic, much of which took place in Latin. Since Crowe’s dissertation, not much has been written on the topic of tax evasion from an ethical perspective, with a few exceptions. In 1998 and 1999, a few articles were published on the ethics of tax evasion in the Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy. An edited book on this topic was published in 1998. The present paper summarizes, updates and expands on Crowe’s work and the other more recent work that has been published on this topic. Three basic views on the ethics of tax evasion have emerged over the centuries. This article presents and critiques those three views and raises some questions about points that have not yet been explored in the literature. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006

Suggested Citation

  • Robert McGee, 2006. "Three Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 15-35, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:67:y:2006:i:1:p:15-35
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9002-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Reckers, Philip M.J. & Sanders, Debra L. & Roark, Stephen J., 1994. "The Influence of Ethical Attitudes on Taxpayer Compliance," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 47(4), pages 825-836, December.
    2. Charles Rowley & Anne Rathbone, 2013. "The political economy of antitrust," Chapters, in: Manfred Neumann & Jürgen Weigand (ed.), The International Handbook of Competition – Second Edition, chapter 6, pages 169-206, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Robert W McGee, 2007. "Ethics and Tax Evasion in Asia," The IUP Journal of Public Finance, IUP Publications, vol. 0(2), pages 21-33, May.
    4. Hayek, F. A., 1978. "Law, Legislation and Liberty, Volume 2," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226320830, October.
    5. Reckers, Philip M.J. & Sanders, Debra L. & Roark, Stephen J., 1994. "The Influence of Ethical Attitudes on Taxpayer Compliance," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 47(4), pages 825-36, December.
    6. White, Stuart, 2003. "The Civic Minimum: On the Rights and Obligations of Economic Citizenship," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198295051.
    7. Knut Wicksell, 1958. "A New Principle of Just Taxation," International Economic Association Series, in: Richard A. Musgrave & Alan T. Peacock (ed.), Classics in the Theory of Public Finance, pages 72-118, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    Keywords

    ethics; tax evasion; duty;
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