Introduction: Why ethics matter in taxation

Abstract

This chapter is the introduction to the book and provides an overview of the content of each chapter within the framework of a general, but necessarily short, theoretical treatise on the interaction of morality and taxation, touching topics such as the philosophical justification of taxes, the obligation to pay and the morality of tax avoidance and planning, voluntary compliance, and tax law enforcement and its ethical challenges. It provides context to the individual chapters, places footnotes by positions taken and shows alternative perspectives.