Why are inheritance taxes unpopular?
Date
2008
Authors
Dowding, Keith
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Volume Title
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
There is a puzzle over why inheritance taxes are unpopular relative to other taxes since they are progressive and, assuming they are spent wisely on welfare goods, more people should gain than lose through inheritance tax. I examine four reasons why inheritance tax might be unpopular (a) propaganda, (b) fiscal illusion, (c) framing and developing the latter (d) an evolutionary basis in human reasoning. The latter suggests that the relative popularity of a tax is related to how far the money taxed is already 'in the possession' of the person taxed. Given these reasons I make a suggestion and examine some proposal for making inheritance tax less unpopular.
Description
Keywords
Keywords: Capital Acquisitions tax; Estate duty; Framing; Inheritance tax; Wealth tax
Citation
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Source
Political Quarterly
Type
Journal article
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Restricted until
2037-12-31