מדיניות חברתית באצטלה כלכלית: מטרותיה של מערכת המס בישראל

תקציר

The tax system is commonly understood to be professionally designed and administrated. This perception presupposes a level of neutrality where tax decisions are based on irrefutable reason and concrete data. In practice, however, both the design and administration of a tax system are subject to and expressive of ideology and, accordingly, a matter of choice. Often, there is no “right” or “wrong” decision, but rather decisions that derive from certain worldviews and a desire to promote specific interests, generally in place of others. This Article aims to shed light on the key goals of taxation while unveiling their broader contextual premise: from the prominent goal of generating revenue to the more controversial ends of resource redistribution and the regulation of private behavior. The Article delves into these goals in the context of the Israeli society and tax system, while placing the analysis in its wider theoretical and empirical setting.