Proposals to introduce broad based consumption taxes have prompted considerable political controversy and conflict in recent decades. This book explores the politics of consumption tax reform in the four countries where the political resistance to such policies has been most acute: Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States.

Using an institutional approach, the analysis in this book is animated by contemporary theoretical debates. These concern the dynamics of institutional and policy change and the roles of economic forces, policy ideas and political actors in this process. The author provides an overview of existing approaches to tax policy analysis, as well as a synopsis of existing debates within institutional theory.

Taxing Reforms will appeal to academics in the fields of public policy, political economy and public finance, as well as graduate and undergraduate students in policy analysis and public finance. The book will also be of interest to tax policy analysts both in government and non-government organisations and think tanks with an interest in tax policy.

About the Author
Richard Eccleston, Director, Institute for the Study of Social Change, University of Tasmania, Australia

Reviews
'The book provides a useful review of a wide range of recent literature dealing with the interaction of ideas, interests and institutions in shaping the politics and outcomes of policy reform efforts in democratic countries, as well as an excellent illustration of how these ideas can be synthesized and used to compare, in a systematic and revealing way, policy episodes in quite different countries. It is an impressive scholarly achievement that deserves attention not only from the limited group of policy scholars with interests in taxation but also from anyone interested in either comparative politics or in understanding how and at what price significant policy changes may sometimes be achieved even in unpromising circumstances.' -- Richard M. Bird, Canadian Journal of Public Administration
'Taxing Reforms is a good short book about the comparative policies of Value Added Taxation (VAT) in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. . . Taxing Reforms is a fine book, well worth reading, especially for specialists in the comparative political economy of taxation. . . its richly detailed case studies will make it a fruitful source of comparative hypotheses.' -- Isaac W. Martin, Journal of Economic Literature
'Richard Eccleston's book, Taxing Reforms, is commendable both because it makes an important contribution to our substantive knowledge about the politics of consumption taxes and also because it is one of the rare attempts to systematically compare an important policy arena across four distinct democracies. Thus we learn both about the politics of consumption taxation and about how four different democracies address some of the most difficult policy choices any country can face. The book will be of great interest to students of comparative politics and public policy alike.' -- Sven Steinmo, European University Institute (EUI), Italy



Book Information
ISBN 9781845421205
Author Richard Eccleston
Format Hardback
Page Count 208
Imprint Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd