economics

Research | What Thomas Aquinas Can Teach Us About Taxation

PhD Symposium | June 02, 2016
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By David Allen Calhoun, University of Aberdeen

This paper grows out of a larger project that seeks to excavate theological perspectives on taxation throughout the history of the western world. Here, I argue that Thomas Aquinas can help us re-envision tax by speaking to three facets of what I call the contemporary tax predicament. He does so by operating with a “baseline,” against which tax justice can be measured, that is derived from the interplay of natural and positive law.

I discuss the contemporary predicament first, then move to an account of Aquinas’ thoughts on property and taxation, and finally construct a Thomistic tax philosophy that is susceptible to comparison with other tax philosophies.

Download the Paper (PDF)

This paper was a finalist in the Intersect Project Ph.D. Student Challenge Symposium. The symposium facilitated broader discussion in the church and academy about the intersection of faith, work and economics.

  • economics
  • PhD Student Challenge Symposium
Ph.D. Symposium

The Intersect Ph.D. Student Challenge Symposium facilitated broader discussion in the church and academy about the intersection of faith, work and economics.

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