A Comparative Study of Death Taxes in Thailand, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States

Abstract

Poverty is an enduring feature of modern human civilization, and the world continues to attempt to address the problem by creating egalitarian laws with the aim of fairer wealth distribution. Many blame the rich as the root cause of poverty - particularly the accumulation of vast sums of wealth and subsequent conveyance of wealth to the next generation. For example, the accumulation of wealth serves to exacerbate wealth disparities by granting the offspring of the rich access to superior education at a young age. A Guardian report showed that the richest one percent of individuals control half of the world's wealth. Death Taxes (also known as Wealth Taxes) are an important step in addressing this historical problem. The death tax is not a new financial tool: the ancient Egyptians made vigorous use of it as early as 700 B.C. More recently, the death tax has been introduced in several countries with an eye towards eliminating unfair distribution by limiting the amount of wealth that can be passed on to the next generation. Despite these efforts, wealth inequality continues to worsen. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the gap between rich and poor has widened over the past two decades. This paper will examine and explain why Death Taxes are a potential solution to resolving vast wealth inequality.

Subject Area

Law

Degree Date

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

S.J.D.

Department

Dedman School of Law

Advisor

Christopher H. Hanna

Second Advisor

Dennis A. Calfee

Third Advisor

Orly Mazur

Number of Pages

293

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS