Of Progress, Progressivity and Progression: Conceptions, Contentions and Contemplations of Tax Fairness in Singapore

DOI: 10.5176/2251-3809_LRPP16.33

Authors: Preston Wong

Abstract:

In the 2015 General Elections, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam described Singapore’s tax system as a “fair system”. This paper constructs and critiques the government's fairness conception on both macro and micro levels of fairness: tax policy’s role in attaining certain desirable socio-economic goals and values, as well as selective indicia for tax fairness. It seeks to evaluate the fairness of Singapore’s tax system holistically alongside references to other jurisdictions, highlighting certain aspects for consideration in Singapore’s progression to holistic tax fairness.

Keywords: tax law; tax policy; public finance; public policy