An Intellectual History of Comparative Tax Law

Abstract

In this article, the author argues that comparative tax law has an intellectual history. More specifically, the author claims that history reveals there is a distinguishable comparative tax law scholarship where tax scholars engage in common debates. The author then offers a description of method, highlighting the difficulty of identifying the work that might be considered “comparative tax law.” Next, the author conceptualizes and clusters contributions from scholars who have framed the comparative tax law field. The author argues that our national boundedness, combined with the lack of an explicit network of scholars, has masked the rich intellectual history in the field of comparative tax law. Finally, the author concludes by drawing attention to the network effects that seem to inform some of the approaches taken by the key contributors to comparative tax law’s intellectual history.