IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v98y2024ics1045235422000168.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Wealth taxes and the post-COVID future of the state

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew, Jane
  • Baker, Max
  • Cooper, Christine
  • Tweedie, Jonathan

Abstract

Over the last 30 years, Critical Perspectives on Accounting has published work placing tax as the central object of study. While this literature offers insights into the social, economic, environmental, and political importance of corporate tax, few focus on the individual. In placing the individual at the centre of this essay, we argue for a wealth tax targeting the super-rich to restore equality, decency, and the social contract. While there has been much discussion of wealth taxes, building popular support for a tax on the rich is extraordinarily difficult. Here we make the case for a tax on wealth, drawing on both consequentialist and non-consequentialist notions of justice, suggesting that a wealth tax may offer a crucial antidote to the social inequalities that have intensified as a result of COVID-19. At the very least, a wealth tax needs to be considered as a means to recalibrate the financial gains made by a handful of individuals during the pandemic. If the state is to be an effective actor in the post-COVID future, we must build on the empirical evidence around us to make the case that sustained public wealth will always be essential to our collective survival.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew, Jane & Baker, Max & Cooper, Christine & Tweedie, Jonathan, 2024. "Wealth taxes and the post-COVID future of the state," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:98:y:2024:i:c:s1045235422000168
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2022.102431
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235422000168
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2022.102431?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Harvey, 2007. "Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 610(1), pages 21-44, March.
    2. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2013. "A Theory of Optimal Inheritance Taxation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(5), pages 1851-1886, September.
    3. Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2019. "Progressive Wealth Taxation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 50(2 (Fall)), pages 437-533.
    4. Otusanya, Olatunde Julius, 2011. "The role of multinational companies in tax evasion and tax avoidance: The case of Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 316-332.
    5. Thomas Ahrens & Laurence Ferry, 2021. "Accounting and accountability practices in times of crisis: a Foucauldian perspective on the UK government's response to COVID-19 for England," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(6), pages 1332-1344, May.
    6. Bryer, R. A., 2000. "The history of accounting and the transition to capitalism in England. Part one: theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 131-162, February.
    7. Prem Sikka & Mark P. Hampton, 2005. "The role of accountancy firms in tax avoidance: Some evidence and issues," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 325-343, September.
    8. Eve Chiapello, 2007. "Accounting and the birth of the notion of capitalism," Post-Print hal-00466515, HAL.
    9. Andrew, Jane & Kaidonis, Mary A. & Andrew, Brian, 2010. "Carbon tax: Challenging neoliberal solutions to climate change," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 611-618.
    10. James, Malcolm, 2010. "Humpty Dumpty's guide to tax law: Rules, principles and certainty in taxation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 573-583.
    11. Giulia Leoni & Alessandro Lai & Riccardo Stacchezzini & Ileana Steccolini & Stephen Brammer & Martina Linnenluecke & Istemi Demirag, 2021. "Accounting, management and accountability in times of crisis: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(6), pages 1305-1319, July.
    12. Jane Andrew & Max Baker & James Guthrie & Ann Martin-Sardesai, 2020. "Australia's COVID-19 public budgeting response: the straitjacket of neoliberalism," Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(5), pages 759-770, August.
    13. Cooper, Christine & Danson, Mike & Whittam, Geoff & Sheridan, Tommy, 2010. "The neoliberal project—Local taxation intervention in Scotland," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 195-210.
    14. Millward,Robert & Singleton,John (ed.), 2002. "The Political Economy of Nationalisation in Britain, 1920–1950," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521892568, November.
    15. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-07-2020-4688 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Lehman, Cheryl R., 2013. "Knowing the unknowable and contested terrains in accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 136-144.
    17. Bryer, R. A., 2000. "The history of accounting and the transition to capitalism in England. Part two: evidence," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(4-5), pages 327-381, May.
    18. Sikka, Prem, 2015. "The hand of accounting and accountancy firms in deepening income and wealth inequalities and the economic crisis: Some evidence," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 46-62.
    19. L. Randall Wray, 1998. "Understanding Modern Money," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1668, December.
    20. Farrar, Jonathan, 2011. "Tax fairness in Canadian government budgets: How fair is ‘fair’?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 365-375.
    21. Sikka, Prem & Willmott, Hugh, 2010. "The dark side of transfer pricing: Its role in tax avoidance and wealth retentiveness," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 342-356.
    22. Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim, 2019. "Some reflections on the construct of emancipatory accounting: Shifting meaning and the possibilities of a new pragmatism," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    23. Jane Andrew & Max Baker & James Guthrie, 2021. "Accounting, inequality and COVID-19 in Australia," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(6), pages 1471-1483, April.
    24. Paul Krugman, 2018. "Good enough for government work? Macroeconomics since the crisis," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 34(1-2), pages 156-168.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Apostol, Oana & Pop, Alina, 2019. "‘Paying taxes is losing money’: A qualitative study on institutional logics in the tax consultancy field in Romania," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-23.
    2. Tweedie, Dale, 2024. "Inclusive capitalism as accounting ideology: The case of integrated reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Kracman, Kimberly, 2022. "Code as constitution: The negotiation of a uniform accounting code for U.S. railway corporations and the moral justification of stakeholder claims on wealth," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Zhang, Ying & Andrew, Jane, 2022. "Financialisation and the Conceptual Framework: An update," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. A. J. ARNOLD & S. McCARTNEY, 2011. "‘Veritable gold mines before the arrival of railway competition’: but did dividends signal rates of return in the English canal industry?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64(1), pages 214-236, February.
    6. Richard, Jacques, 2015. "The dangerous dynamics of modern capitalism (from static to IFRS’ futuristic accounting)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 9-34.
    7. Haynes, Kathryn, 2017. "Accounting as gendering and gendered: A review of 25 years of critical accounting research on gender," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 110-124.
    8. Parfitt, Claire, 2024. "A foundation for ‘ethical capital’: The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Integrated Reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. Alexandre Rambaud & Jacques Richard, 2015. "Towards a finance that CARES," Post-Print halshs-01260075, HAL.
    10. Toms, J.S., 2010. "Calculating profit: A historical perspective on the development of capitalism," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 205-221, February.
    11. Boll, Karen, 2014. "Shady car dealings and taxing work practices: An ethnography of a tax audit process," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-19.
    12. Bakre, Owolabi M., 2008. "Financial reporting as technology that supports and sustains imperial expansion, maintenance and control in the colonial and post-colonial globalisation: The case of the Jamaican economy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 487-522.
    13. Vassili Joannides & Nicolas Berland, 2010. "Keeping Accounts By The Book: The Revelation(S) Of Accounting," Post-Print hal-00477759, HAL.
    14. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Accounting for the fictitious: A Marxist contribution to understanding accounting's roles in the financial crisis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 63-82.
    15. Robertson, Jeffrey & Funnell, Warwick, 2012. "The Dutch East-India Company and accounting for social capital at the dawn of modern capitalism 1602–1623," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 342-360.
    16. Argilés-Bosch, Josep Mª & Ravenda, Diego & Garcia-Blandón, Josep, 2021. "E-commerce and labour tax avoidance," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Yannick Lemarchand & Laure Pineau-Defois & Cheryl Mcwatters, 2011. "Comptes et récits de la maison Chaurand, retour sur les liens entre comptabilité et capitalisme," Post-Print hal-00650546, HAL.
    18. Nhu Tuyên Le, 2009. "Liens Entre Comptabilite Et Systeme Economique : La Transition Vietnamienne," Post-Print halshs-00460227, HAL.
    19. Edgley, Carla & Holland, Kevin, 2021. "“Unknown unknowns” and the tax knowledge gap: Power and the materiality of discretionary tax disclosures," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Hackett, Franki & Janský, Petr, 2023. "Incremental improvement: Evaluating the emancipatory impact of public country-by-country reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:98:y:2024:i:c:s1045235422000168. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.