Taxation U.K.

Tax Expenditure Management A Critical Assessment

Edited by Mark Burton · Kerrie Sadiq
Cambridge University Press February 2013

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781107007369
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publication
February 2013
Format
Hardback , 266 pages
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

A tax expenditure is a 'tax break' allowed to a taxpayer or group of taxpayers, for example, by way of concession, deduction, deferral or exemption. The tax expenditure concept, as it was first identified, was designed to demonstrate the similarity between direct government spending on the one hand and spending through the tax system on the other. The identification of benefits provided through the tax system as tax expenditures allows analysts to consider the fiscal significance of those parts of the tax system which do not contribute to the primary purpose of raising revenue. Although a seemingly simple concept, it has generated a range of complex definitional and practical issues, and this book identifies and critically assesses the controversial aspects of tax expenditure and tax expenditure management.

• Proposes the concept of tax expenditure management and emphasises the need for a systematic approach to the identification and appraisal of tax expenditures

• Unifies the disciplines of public finance and political science by offering a realistic approach to tax expenditure management

• Proposes a broader definition of 'tax expenditure' which is not tied to the limited definition of the concept adopted in the US, thereby placing tax expenditure management upon a more consistent footing

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
viii
1       Introduction
1
1.1     The subject of this book
1
1.2     What are tax expenditures?
1
1.3     Why single out tax expenditures?
3
1.4     Explaining the focus upon tax expenditures – the significance of tax expenditures
4
1.5     What else is controversial about tax expenditures?
8
1.6     The irresolvable nature of these tax expenditure controversies
10
1.7     Tax expenditure controversies and liberal-democratic political theory
11
1.8     The thesis of the book
13
1.9     Outline of the book
14
2       The tax expenditures concept
15
2.1     Introduction
15
2.2     The concept of tax expenditures
17
2.3     The purpose of categorisation
23
2.4     The function of identifying tax expenditures
28
2.5     The identification of tax expenditures
35
2.6     The measurement of tax expenditures
55
2.7     Contemporary expansions of the traditional concept of tax expenditures
59
2.8     Conclusion
63
3       Reporting on tax expenditures
65
3.1     Introduction
65
3.2     International aspects of tax expenditures
68
3.3     The impact on reporting of the purpose and function of recognising tax expenditures
76
3.4     Tax expenditures so defined
81
3.5     The benchmark tax law
83
3.6     Identification of all types of tax expenditures
91
3.7     Measurement of tax expenditures
93
3.8     Structure and information contained in tax expenditures reports
97
3.9     Conclusion
101
4       The practical significance of tax expenditures
103
4.1     Introduction
103
4.2     Where to start? Holism, atomism and tax expenditure management
104
4.3     The economic significance of tax expenditures
107
4.4     Public administration
128
4.5     Legal significance
130
4.6     Administration of taxation law
134
4.7     The legitimacy of government
144
4.8     Tax expenditures – the weak link in the fiscal chain?
145
5       The politics of tax expenditure management
147
5.1     Introduction
147
5.2     The connection between moral objectivity and the politics of tax expenditure management
149
5.3     Deontological norms and their relevance to tax expenditure management
154
5.4     Democracy as political procedure – accountability and transparency
169
5.5     Ontological accounts of tax expenditure management
182
5.6     Deliberative concepts of accountability
191
6       Managing tax expenditure controversies
203
6.1     Introduction – epistemic and political tensions
203
6.2     What is to be done?
208
6.3     Towards a democratic tax expenditure management framework
217
6.4     Into the political future
230
Bibliography
232
Index
249

About the Author

Mark Burton
University of Melbourne

Kerrie Sadiq
Queensland University of Technology

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