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History of Wealth Taxation

Co-hosted by the Department of Economic History and LSE Law School

Postel_Vinay_Natacha_2020

Natacha Postel-Vinay

Department of Economic History

Andrew-Summers

Author

Andrew Summers

Law School, LSE

Monday 26th June, LSE

As is well-known, social inequality is primarily driven by inequalities in wealth, which determine inheritance, gifts, rents of all kinds, and eventually standards of living through basic things such as access to property.

However in many countries wealth, and income from wealth, are taxed less than labour income. Recent events in the UK and around the world have led to general debates about the benefits, costs and feasibility of various forms of wealth taxation. Bringing about change in wealth taxation is particularly challenging due to political and societal inertia. Going back in history may help identify the nature of these challenges as well as potential solutions.

The workshop we are convening will be an interdisciplinary one where academics researching wealth taxation and its history will join experts from policy backgrounds and law practice to shed light on these complex issues.

The workshop will last half a day and will be primarily discussion-led. In the first part, a small number of speakers will offer their perspective on the topic and workshop guests will be encouraged to join in the conversation. The second part will consist in a roundtable, primarily focused on the issue of "Overcoming Path Dependence in Wealth Taxation," in which all guests will be expected to participate. It is hoped that tentative lessons will be drawn in the process.