Measuring Tax Equity

First Name: 
Michael
Last Name: 
Neve
Major Department: 
Accounting
Thesis Director: 
Susan Anderson
Date of Thesis: 
May 2013

The debate about tax fairness has a long and interesting history.  However, there has not been any effort to objectively quantify tax fairness from a comprehensive perspective.  This thesis will use the seven dimensions of tax equity and fairness established by the AICPA to analyze a comprehensive view of tax fairness in an effort to better understand the issues involved.  Additionally, it will seek to use this perspective to construct a measurement framework that can be applied to different tax systems.  For each dimension, a conceptual model for quantitatively evaluating tax fairness is proposed.  These scores are then compiled through a composite equity formula to produce an overall fairness score.