Abstract
Assuming a world with excessive taxes, the focuses of this paper are political mechanisms that ensure efficiency enhancing restraints on taxes. In particular, it is shown that supermajority requirements to approve tax increases, as currently used in some US states, is the means of attaining this objective. Their relationship to another such mechanism prevalent in earlier centuries, that of franchise restrictions, is discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 471-485 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Public Economics |
Volume | 72 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 1999 |
Keywords
- Commitment
- Fiscal constitution
- Optimal taxation
- Supermajority
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Finance
- Economics and Econometrics