Reconsidering citizenship taxation

Book section : Chapter

This chapter examines citizenship taxation as a potential response to the challenges of global mobility and digitalized work, which have weakened traditional tax systems. As people increasingly work, live, and invest across borders, states struggle to maintain their tax bases and fulfill their social obligations. Citizenship taxation – taxing citizens on worldwide income regardless of residence – could help, but it faces challenges. First, taxes levied on worldwide income for redistributive purposes are justified by national community membership, but citizenship alone is too crude a basis for determining membership in a national community. Additionally, enforcement is difficult and not every state can impose citizenship tax. Although multilateral cooperation could improve enforcement, we explain why cooperation might exacerbate global inequality rather than reducing it.

Authors: Dagan, T; Mason, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Host title: Taxing People: The Next One Hundred Years
• Pages: 58-76
• Chapter number: 4
• Place of publication: Cambridge
• Publication date: 2025-12-18
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.1017/9781009669313.006
• EISBN: 9781009669313
• ISBN: 9781009669344
• Language: English
• Keywords: citizenship taxation; residence taxation; global mobility; tax justice; tax competition; non-dom regimes; tax enforcement; tax sovereignty; national community membership
• Subtype: Chapter