The Politics of Gendered Taxation

In Kooperation mit dem Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für Politikwissenschaft, LMU München

Leitung: Giulia Mennillo / Laura Seelkopf

Sekretariat: Alexandra Tatum, Tel.: 08158 / 256-17

The international community has pledged to end discrimination of women. Yet, governments around the world continue to discriminate against their female citizens. A field where this “spirit of a people, its cultural level, its social structure” is most visible is the tax system (Schumpeter 1918). Taxation shows what the government can and cannot do, who pays and who benefits. It reflects societal preferences and shows how the state perceives its female citizens. In 1984, the European Union called on member states to end gender bias in taxation. Since then, explicit bias has become less prevalent, but indirect discrimination continues to persist around the world. Therefore, reforming tax systems to reduce gender discrimination remains on the list for urgent reforms globally. International Organisations (IOs) and scholarship have shown that tax systems discriminate against women, which has negative implications for female citizens, but also for society as a whole. Yet, we still do know very little about the factors that help or hinder gender-equalizing tax policy change. When, how and why do countries reform their tax systems? And why do they end gender discrimination in one field, but not the other? Why do some introduce gender-discriminatory tax practices? What is the role of IOs? Where does female agency come in? In short, what explains the politics of gendered taxation?