Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T22:50:53.815Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Citizens Strike a Balance: Discontent With Taxes, Content With Spending

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Axel Hadenius
Axel Hadenius
Affiliation:
Political Science, University of Uppsala
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a public opinion survey of the level of taxation in Sweden. The study demonstrates that opinions depend to a large extent on the framing of the problem. On general questions regarding taxes, the answers are usually negative. But when asked about both taxes and benefits, people normally express a positive attitude to both. The opinions about different kinds of taxes vary greatly, but the variation does not correspond to the predictions of the fiscal illusion theory. Opinions about taxes can be assigned to three underlying attitude dimensions. A comparison with an earlier Swedish survey shows that discontent with the level of taxation has not increased since the 1960s, with but one exception, marginal taxes.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , August 1985 , pp. 349 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beck, P. A. and Dye, T. R. (1982) Sources of Public Opinion on Taxes: the Florida Case, The Journal of Politics, 44, 172–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downs, A. (1960) Why the Government Budget is too small in a Democracy, World Politics, 12, 541–563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadenius, A. (1981) Spelet om skatten. (The Tax Game). Stockholm: Norstedts.Google Scholar
Hibbs, D. A. Jr. and Madsen, H. J. (1981) Public Reactions to the Growth of Taxation and Government Expenditure, World Politics, 33, 413–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, A. (1982) The Psychology of Taxation. Oxford: Martin Robertson.Google Scholar
Musgrave, R. A. (1961) The Theory of Public Finance. Tokyo: McGraw-Hill, Kogakusha.Google Scholar
OECD (1981) Income Tax Schedules. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
OECD (1982) The Tax/benefit Position of a Typical Worker. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
OECD (1983) Revenue Statistics 1965–1982. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Pommerehne, W. W. and Schneider, F. (1978) Fiscal Illusion, Political Institutions, and Local Public Spending, Kyklos, 31, 381–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Proposition 1982/83:100:1.2. (Finansplanen), Stockholm.Google Scholar
Riksrevisionsverket (1981/1982) Statsbudgets utfall. (Outcome of the National Budget).Google Scholar
Socialdepartementet (1982) Rökvaneundersokning. (Investigation of Smoking Habits). Stockholm: NTB.Google Scholar
Statistiska Centralbyran (1983) Statistiska meddelanden (Statistical Information), Be 1983:6.1.Google Scholar
Sears, D. O. and Citrin, J. (1982) Tax Revolt: Something for Nothing in California. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Vogel, J. (1970) Aspirationer, möjligheter, skattemoral (Aspirations, Opportunities, Tax Moral), SOU 1970:25.Google Scholar
Wagner, R. E. (1976) Revenue Structure, Fiscal Illusion and Budget Choice, Public Choice, 25, 45–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wellinder, C. (1978) Skattetryck och skatteekonomi. (Tax Pressure and Tax Economics). Lund: Liber.Google Scholar
Wilensky, H. L. (1975) The Welfare State and Equality. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Wilensky, H. L. (1976) The ‘New Corporatism’, Centralization, and the Welfare State. Beverly Hills, Cal.: Sage.Google Scholar