Fairness: A Dire International Tax Standard with No Meaning?

Abstract

In their discussions on corporate income tax systems the International Organizations (IOs) OECD, UN, IMF and World Bank, Supranational Organizations (SOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), associations of practitioners and Governments often refer to the concept of fairness without proper definition of what in the context of their arguments is fairness and how the fairness can be achieved. The consequence is that fairness in taxation is a blurred concept. This article shows that fairness in taxation has an economical, juridical, philosophical and political perspective. Following the overview of these perspectives, this article calls for more research on global perceptions of fairness and for formulating an agenda for discussing this issue by IOs, SOs, NGOs and Governments.

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