Monist special issue workshop: Tax bases for the 21st century

*Confirmed speakers*

• Will Abel (IMF) & Tom Parr (University of Warwick) – on egalitarian land taxation
• Paul Bou-Habib (University of Essex) & Serena Olsaretti (ICREA – Pompeu Fabra University) – on tax breaks for caregivers
• Huub Brouwer (Tilburg University) – on the tax base for limitarianism
• Tsilly Dagan (Oxford University) & Lisa Herzog (Groningen University) – on taxation and the spatial and temporal scope of work
• Anca Gheaus (Central European University) – on sharing the costs of childbearing and childrearing through the tax system
• Joseph Heath (University of Toronto) – on wealth taxation
• Hillel Steiner (University of Manchester) – on land taxation and universal basic income

*Topic*

Taxation was largely overlooked in 20th century political philosophy. This is a shame, because taxes are a powerful driver of human behaviour and mould the world around us. Think only of the window taxes that shaped architecture in European countries in ways still visible hundreds of years onwards. In the 21st century, philosophers have fortunately started to engage with questions of taxation again. However, an important and normatively significant issue that has not received sufficient attention yet is the choice of tax base: what should be taxed?

Many countries predominantly tax labour income and consumption. Developments in the real economy – including slower economic growth, labour market polarisation, and the growing concentration of wealth – have put a strain on fiscal policy formed largely in the years just after 1945. Moreover, even though taxation has strong effects on human behaviour, governments have so far only used it sparsely to address contemporary challenges such as climate change, disruptive technological development, and demographic ageing. These changes and challenges suggest a need to reform the tax base for it to be fit for purpose.

The aim of the workshop, and the special issue that will result from it, is to contribute to the cutting-edge of philosophical inquiry into taxation by studying which tax bases can help address 21st century challenges.

*Submitting an abstract*

Topics include, but are not limited to, land value taxes, carbon taxes, taxes on AI and robotization, novel forms of wealth taxes on individuals and corporations, special taxes on ultra-high net worth individuals, and novel forms of inheritance taxes. We are particularly interested in contributions on themes that are not yet covered in the workshop.

To be considered for participation in the workshop, please submit an anonymized abstract of about 1000 words by the 7th of December 2025 to [email protected]. Abstracts will be reviewed anonymously. You will be notified by the 15th of December of acceptance/rejection. The workshop is pre-read. 

*Special issue of the Monist*

Authors of selected papers need to submit a full draft to the organizers by 31 May 2026. Selected papers will be considered for inclusion in a special issue of the Monist, that will be published in April 2028 (volume 111, issue 2).

*Location*

The workshop takes place on the Erasmus University Rotterdam campus.

*Questions*

Any questions about the workshop and the special issue should be addressed to Huub Brouwer ([email protected]). Please do not send your questions to the address at which we receive abstracts, as this will be maintained by someone else to enable anonymous abstract selection.