Instructions:
- Provide personal interpretation. This does not mean a one-sided argument: it means a balanced argument in which your position is made clear.
- Provide evidence of wider reading and research (recent example from newspaper or other media source, recent court case e.g., from the court of Justice of the European Union and not referred to in the lecture, insights and views from a journal article, report, consultant paper, and developments in other countries.
- About 600 words for each question.
First Question:
To what extent do you believe that Adam Smith's canons of good taxation remain useful for policy makers in the twenty first century?
Points to include:
- Explain the context in which Smith was writing.
- Explain and identify the four canons
- Provide your personal interpretation: refer to what other have said following Smith and explain your position clearly. Which canons endure? What other canons could be added and why?
- It would be useful to explain why the canons have been enduring: what do you understand by the statement that three of the canons have a procedural focus?
Second Question:
− Critically discuss the view that path dependency is the most important limitation in the tax design process.
Points to include:
- Explain path dependency and give examples from the tax system.
- Identify other limitations. This will help you to consider if path dependency is the most important. Are others more important or of equal importance? Are there any limitations which were not discussed in the lecture?
THIRD Q WILL BE IN THE FILE ATTACHED