Ability to Pay in Tax Law
Why This Book?
This volume contains the proceedings of the IBFD Academic Tax Conference (ATC), held at IBFD’s headquarters in Amsterdam on 21–22 May 2026, devoted to the theme Ability to Pay in Tax Law. This conference convened leading experts from around the world to examine the ability-to-pay concept, widely considered the cornerstone of fair taxation yet marked by striking diversity in interpretation and application.
Ability to pay is widely regarded as the foundational idea of modern (income) taxation, commonly understood to require that tax burdens reflect a taxpayer’s economic capacity. However, this convergence conceals deep and persistent divergences in interpretation, implementation and legal effect. By exploring the convergences and differences, this book shows that ability to pay is not a one-size-fits-all axiom but a complex, evolving standard at the heart of tax justice controversies.
The book is structured in five parts, each grouping chapters around a thematic focus. Part I surveys the concept’s historical and philosophical foundations, tracing its evolution from classical ideas of justice to modern tax theory. Part II investigates the constitutional and legal underpinnings of ability to pay, examining how it functions as a principle in fundamental law and judicial review across different countries. Part III focuses on (personal) income taxation, analysing how the ideal of taxing according to capacity is implemented in practice and what challenges and compromises arise. Part IV considers the principle beyond income tax (namely, in social security contributions, consumption and wealth taxes), highlighting both its potential applications and inherent limitations in those domains. Part V addresses international dimensions, asking whether ability to pay can or should inform supranational tax norms in contexts such as EU law or bilateral tax treaties.
Despite broad rhetorical endorsement, ability to pay remains a contested concept. The perspectives collected in this volume reveal how its meaning is shaped by different legal traditions and policy choices, and why it continues to spur debate in tax scholarship and practice. Aimed at advanced tax scholars, judges, legislators and practitioners, this book provides a thorough mapping of the ability-to-pay principle’s many facets in tax law. By clarifying how the principle is articulated, operationalized and adjudicated across jurisdictions, it offers a durable reference point for future discussions on fairness and equity in taxation.
Ability to Pay in Tax Law
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y
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Chapter 1: Philosophical Foundations of the Ability to Pay from Ancient Greece until Early Modernity
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y001
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Chapter 2: Philosophical Foundations of the Ability to Pay from Early Modernity Onwards
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y002
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Chapter 3: Six Justifications of Ability to Pay
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y003
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Chapter 4: Ability to Pay and the Existential Minimum: From Equality and Property to Human Dignity
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y004
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Chapter 5: Ability to Pay, Constitutional Interpretation and Economic Incidence
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y005
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Chapter 6: The Positive and Negative Dimensions of Ability to Pay: A Constitutional Framework for Progressive Income Taxation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y006
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Chapter 7: The Multifaceted Role of Constitutional Courts in Applying the Ability to Pay Principle: A Comparative Analysis of the DACH, Italian and Spanish Jurisdictions
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y007
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Chapter 8: An Ability to Pay Decision Framework for Income Taxation: From Principle to Design
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y008
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Chapter 9: Assessing Ability to Pay for Income Tax Purposes – Challenges Arising from the Use of Presumptive Methods
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y009
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Chapter 10: Ability to Pay and the Income Tax: A Normative Reconstruction of the Realization Rule
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y010
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Chapter 11: Ability to Pay and Corporate Taxpayers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y011
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Chapter 12: Linking Ability to Pay in EU Tax Law and Social Security Law
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y012
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Chapter 13: The Applicability of Ability to Pay to VAT Law from an EU Perspective and Its Implications for VAT Design
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y013
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Chapter 14: VAT Consumers, Suppliers and the Ability to Pay Principle
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y014
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Chapter 15: Ability to Pay Across Multiple Tax Bases: Rise and Fall of a Principle
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y015
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Chapter 16: Ability to Pay, the Tax Base and Wealth in Contemporary Conditions
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y016
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Chapter 17: A General EU Principle of Ability to Pay: Does It Already Exist and What Is There to Gain From It?
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y017
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Chapter 18: The Legal Basis for Ability to Pay in EU Tax Law
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y018
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Chapter 19: Ability to Pay, Tax Treaties and Taxation on a Gross Basis: What Is Implicitly Present in the OECD Model and What Should Explicitly Be Included?
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59403/1m2q89y019
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Prof. Dr Pasquale Pistone (Italy)
IBFD (Netherlands), University of Salerno (Italy), WU Vienna (Austria)
Prof. Dr João Nogueira (Portugal)
IBFD (Netherlands), Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal)
Prof. Dr Craig West (South Africa)
IBFD (Netherlands), University of Cape Town (South Africa)
Dr Alessandro Turina (Italy)
IBFD (Netherlands)
Dr Ivan Lazarov (Bulgaria)
IBFD (Netherlands)
Dr Pedro Schoueri (Brazil)
IBFD (Netherlands)
Dr Sergio Messina (Italy)
IBFD (Netherlands)
Prof. Dr Sam van der Vlugt (Netherlands)
IBFD (Netherlands), Erasmus University (Netherlands)
Prof. Dr João Nogueira (Portugal)
IBFD (Netherlands), Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal)
Dr Pedro Schoueri (Brazil)
IBFD (Netherlands)
This book is part of the Academic Tax Conference Series
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