Corporate Income Taxation and Inequality: Review and Discussion of Issues Raised in The triumph of injustice—How the rich dodge taxes and how to make them pay (2019)

Abstract

This article surveys the literature on the relationship between corporate income taxation and inequality through the lens of the recent book The triumph of injustice—How the rich dodge taxes and how to make them pay by Saez and Zucman (2019). First, we analyze the nexus between corporate taxation and inequality by reviewing both studies that highlight the curbing effect of corporate tax on inequality, and by examining studies claiming that more corporate taxation might paradoxically raise personal inequality. Then we proceed by identifying current practices in taxing multinational entities, and provide an overview of the latest estimates on nations’ missing fiscal revenues. Finally, we discuss the policy proposals put forward by Saez and Zucman (2019) to reform corporate taxation at the global level through the introduction of a global corporate minimum tax.