Accountability from tax
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For imposing taxes on us without our consent
[American Declaration of Independence]
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The payment of taxes gives a right to protection.
[James M. Wayne]
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Taxation is the new frontier for those concerned with state-building in developing countries. The political importance of taxation
extends beyond the raising of revenue. We argue in this book that taxation may play the central (their emphasis) role in building and
sustaining the power of states, and shaping their ties to society. The state-building role of taxation can be seen in two principal areas:
the rise of a social contract based on bargaining around tax, and the institution-building stimulus provided by the revenue imperative.
Progress in the first area may foster representative democracy. Progress in the second area strengthens state capacity. Both have the
potential to bolster the legitimacy of the state and enhance accountability between the state and its citizens.
[Taxation and State-Building in Developing Countries:
Capacity and Consent, January 2008]
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Paying taxes is perhaps the most fundamental way in which private and corporate citizens engage with broader society. Tax revenues are
the lifeblood of the social contract.
[Christensen and Murphy: The Social Irresponsibility of
Corporate Tax Avoidance: Taking CSR to the Bottom Line, Development Journal, vol 47(3) 2004 p 37-44]
