Friday, August 5, 2011

PBS Religion & Ethics Addresses: What is a Fair Tax System?

The main purpose of a tax system is to raise revenue for the common good, for the public good. That’s its purpose. But it has to do so in a way that is fair, that involves shared sacrifice, because really it’s a matter of sharing the burdens of a free society and of a good society. That’s, morally speaking, what taxes are about. So unless a tax system meets the test of fairness, none of its other advantages really matter.

- PROFESSOR MICHAEL SANDEL (Professor of Government, Harvard University)


Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.