THE POPULAR TAX AUDIT
Paying taxes is a social obligation, and current tax law attempts to incentivize pro-social activities with lower taxes. However, these tax laws are subject to manipulation, rewarding behavior following the letter but not the spirit of the law.
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What if we empower tax-collecting agencies to supplement tax-code-based assessments by empaneling juries of citizens to review tax avoidance behaviors? Instead of hiring creative accountants, our most impactful economic actors would need to consider whether the public would find social value in their tax-avoidance actions.
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To start a conversation about this policy idea, email us at nate@outsideinnovation.org.
Economic activity requires commensurate public goods, so tax law bases individual tax burdens on individual economic activity.
Because laws inflexibly measure tax burden based on economic activity, people can avoid tax burdens through loopholes.
The social responsibility of paying taxes is best measured by tax law along with tax juries making adjustments in special cases.
Economic activity requires commensurate public goods, so tax law bases individual tax burdens on individual economic activity.