Swedish (Tax) Constitutionalism. Through the Lens of Equality and Fairness
Keywords:
political constitution, tax system, tax principles, taxpayer rights, tax justiceAbstract
Like any other country, Sweden has constitutional rules that affect the tax system. According to the authors, said constitutional norms focus on a certain tradition that must be evaluated on the basis of a new understanding of the function of tax constitutional law, and the formal and legal aspects of the constitution must be studied in the context of the political and economic objectives of these regulations. For the authors, this approach is particularly important since modern tax systems seem to increase the structural problems of fair and sustainable taxation. Likewise, they emphasize the relevance of human rights to frame tax policies and how they can serve as a bridge between tax policies and issues related to social and economic justice.
Author Biographies
Åsa Gunnarsson, Umeå University
Åsa Gunnarsson is professor of law at Umeå University. She has devoted herself to research with a problem-oriented legal theory and gender studies orientation within, above all, tax and social law.
Yvette Lind, BI Norwegian Business School.
Professor of Law at the Department of Law and Governance in addition to being a Member of the Centre or Business History at BI Norwegian Business School. She main expertise concerns taxation and fiscal policy, but I also research and teach in other areas of law, such as comparative law, EU law, state aid law, social insurance law, and constitutional law.
References
Alston, P., & Reisch, N. (Eds.). (2019). Tax, inequality, and human rights. Oxford University Press. Avi-Yonah, R. (2006). The Three Goals of Taxation. Tax Law Review, 60(1), 1–28. Boucoyannis, D. (2013). The Equalizing Hand: Why Adam Smith Thought the Market Should Produce Wealth Without Steep Inequality. Perspectives on Politics, 11(4), 1051–1070. Dourado, A. P. (2010a). General Report – In Search of Validity in Tax Law: The Boundaries Between Creation and Application in a Rule-of-Law State. In A. P Dourado (Ed.), Separation of powers in tax law (pp. 30–31). IBFD. Dourado, A. P. (2010b). Sweden. In Separation of powers in tax law. IBFD. Emblad, P. (2021). Power and sovereignty: How economic-ideological forces constrain sovereignty to tax. Nordic Journal on Law and Society, 4(1), 1–26. Gunnarsson, Å. (1995). Skatterättuisa/Tax fairness. Umeå. Gunnarsson, Å. (2013). An egalitarian fiscal culture favours gender equality: The Swedish example. Contemporary Gender Relations and Changes in Legal Cultures, 2013, ISBN 9788757427684, p. 113-127, 113–127. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=8173297 Gunnarsson, Å. (2021). Fair taxes to end poverty. In Davis, Martha F, Kjaerum, Morten, & Lyons, Amanda (Eds.), Handbook on Human Rights and Poverty (pp. 474–487). Edward Elgar Publishing. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-195075 Gunnarsson, Å., Schratzenstaller, M., & Spangenberg, U. (2017). Gender equality and taxation in the European Union. Policy Department C: Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs European Parliament, 1–56. Head, John G. (1993). Tax-Fairness Principles: A Conceptual. In J. G. Head, A. M. Maslove, & Ontario (Eds.), Fairness in taxation: Exploring the principles (University of Toronto Press). Published by University of Toronto Press in cooperation with the Fair Tax Commission of the Government of Ontario. Hilling, A., & Ostas, D. T. (2017). Corporate Taxation and Social Responsibility (Vol. 1). Wolters Kluwer. https://www.wolterskluwer.se/nyhet/what-is-the-responsibility-of-companies-to-pay-taxes-171108 Hodgson, H., & Sadiq, K. (2017). Gender equality and a rights-based approach to tax reform. In M. Stewart (Ed.), Tax, Social Policy and Gender: Rethinking equality and efficiency (1st ed., pp. 99–129). Australian National University Press. https://doi.org/10.22459/TSPG.11.2017.04 Lacey, N. (1998). Unspeakable subjects: Feminist essays in legal and social theory. Hart Pub. ; Distributed in the United States by Northwestern University Press. Levi, M. (1989). Of Rule and Revenue. University of California Press. Lindahl, E. (1919). Die Gerechtigkeit der Besteuerung: Eine Analyse der Steuerprinzipien auf Grundlage der Grenznutzentheorie. Lund University. McCaffery, E. J. (1996). Tax’s Empire. Georgetown Law Journal, 85(1), 71–154. Musgrave, R. A., & Peacock, A. T. (1967). Classics in the Theory of Public Finance [International Economic Association Series]. St Martin’s Press. https://econpapers.repec.org/bookchap/palinteas/978-1-349-23426-4.htm Nergelius, J. (2015). Constitutional law in Sweden (Second edition). Kluwer Law International.
| R REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL & EUROPEAN ECONOMIC LAW www.Rieel.com
Gunnarsson, A, et. al. – Rieel.com nº 03 (02) p. 216-227, February 2023 /225
Popović, D., & Kostić, S. (2018). Legal certainty and taxation: The problem of retroactive interpretation. Anali Pravnog Fakulteta u Beogradu, 66(4), 38–55. https://doi.org/10.5937/AnaliPFB1804038P Rawls, J. (1990). A theory of justice. Oxford University Press. Sainsbury, D. (1999). Taxation, Family Responsibilities, and Employment. In D. Sainsbury (Ed.), Gender and Welfare State Regimes (pp. 185–209). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0198294166.003.0007 Schmelzer, M. (2016). The Hegemony of Growth: The OECD and the Making of the Economic Growth Paradigm. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316452035 Schumpeter, Joseph, A. (1991). The Crisis of the Tax State. In Swedenburg, R (Ed.), The Economics and Sociology of Capitalism. Princeton University Press. Sjöberg, Ola. (2001). Välfärdsstatens finansiering under 1990-talet/The welfare state’s financing during the 1990s. Graphium/Norstedts. Stotsky, J. G. (1996). Gender Bias in Tax Systems. IMF Working Papers, 1996(99). https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451852226.001.A001 Tuori, K. (2015). European Constitutionalism. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316091883 UN Women. (2015). Transforming economies, realizing rights. Wicksell, Knut. (1896). Ein neues Prinzip der gerechten Besteurung/A new principle of fair taxation (Gustav). Young, C. (2000). Women, Tax and Social Programs: The Gendered Impact of Funding Social Programs Through the Tax System. Faculty Publications (Emeriti). https://commons.allard.ubc.ca/emeritus_pubs/43
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Åsa Gunnarsson, Yvette Lind
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
