Abstract

The issue of taxation raises essential moral questions about justice and fairness. Although the issue is an ancient one, systematic ethical reflection about taxation can be traced to the last few centuries. The author discusses five key values that have been identified as bearing on tax policy: freedom, material well-being and employment, health and welfare, equity, and distributive justice. He presents these values and their various interpretations as a conceptual framework for approaching the concrete teachings on taxation of the historical religious traditions surveyed in this Focus.