Tomorrow at McGill Law: Sagit Leviner presents on the Three Goals of Taxation

The 4th Annual Tax Policy Colloquium at McGill Law continues Monday with a presentation by Professor Sagit Leviner of Ono Academic College, Israel, on her paper, co-authored with Tali Nir, Contemplating on the Meaning & Attainment of the Three Goals of Taxation, forthcoming in Honoring Arie Lapidot (Hebrew University Press, 2014). Here is the abstract:

Why do we need a tax system? Do we want the tax system to only finance public goods and services or do we also intend it to redistribute wealth and regulate human behavior?  What are the different means available to advance each goal and the likely (as well as unlikely) tension that might built up when utilizing these means and pursuing  the different goals? This chapter seeks to address these questions in order to present the building-blocks for a clear and accessible analysis of the goals of taxation. Specifically, the chapter addresses these goals in the context of the Israeli tax system while placing the analysis in a broader theoretical and empirical setting.

In connection with the above, Professor Leviner will discuss her 2003 Tannenwald prize-winning paper, From Deontology to Practical Application: the Vision of a Good Society and the Tax System, 24 Va. Tax Rev. 406 (2006) [draft here]. That paper laid out Leviner's vision for thinking abut tax policy from the perspective of a community-rather than individual-oriented view of society, "drawn from an analysis of the role that individual and collective rights and responsibilities ought to play in contemporary tax policy-making." This innovative work laid the groundwork for her current research and should make for a lively discussion.

The McGill Tax Policy Colloquium features distinguished visiting academics and offers a forum for students, professors, and local practitioners to discuss issues of tax policy and theory, along with related issues of economics and social justice.

Professor Leviner's talk is scheduled to commence at 2:30 pm tomorrow; members of the public are warmly welcomed.

 Location: McGill Faculty of Law, 3644 Peel Street, New Chancellor Day Hall, Room 203.
 Date and Time: Monday, 28 October, 14:30–16:30.