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August 10, 2026Open Access

Taxation as a Horizontal Contract: A Libertarian Defense of Progressive Taxation

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Authors

BHBowen Hou

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Overview

Defends progressive taxation by redefining it as a collective contract among taxpayers, suggesting a novel justification.

Key Points

  • The aim is to provide a new foundation for the legitimacy of progressive taxation without relying on distributive justice arguments.
  • Redefines taxation as a collective contract among all taxpayers.
  • Argues that government acts as an executor of this contract.
  • Establishes boundaries of rights between taxpayers and non-taxpayers.
  • Describes progressive taxation as an obligation stemming from legal consent to the collective contract.
  • Claims that the essence of taxation is based on contractual performance rather than moral obligations.
  • Proposes a mechanism for constitutional self-preservation against governmental interference in contracts.

Cite This Study

Bowen Hou (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7999219c20a9bbd3184c11https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21845463
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Taxation as a Horizontal Contract: A Libertarian Defense of Progressive Taxation2026
  2. 2Taxation as Legislated Crime via Majority Hegemony2026
  3. 3Rethinking taxes as the gift: Maussian interventions and radical fiscal imaginaries2026
  4. 4Taxing your cake and growing it too: public beliefs on the dual benefits of progressive taxation2025
  5. 5Taxation and Resentment: Race, Party, and Class in American Tax Attitudes by Andrea Louise Campbell2026