Theoretical justification for our tax system I added this sentence to the lede The two main theories of taxation are the benefit theory and the ability to pay theory which Guest2625 removed with the explanation that this entry doesn t contain the terms used in my sentence There s a theoretical explanation for the world s current tax system either that or we re all crazy If you re saying that this entry doesn t at all discuss the theoretical basis for our tax system then clearly that s a problem You don t solve that problem by removing the one sentence that does mention the justification for our tax system you solve it by creating the section that does provide the justification In order to do that you first have to review all the references that I added to the benefit principle entry If you re not willing to make that effort then please don t edit this entry Having already read through all those reliable sources and many many many more here s my take This paper The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure by Paul Samuelson has been cited over 5 000 times It provides the definitive theoretical justification for our tax system Samuelson s argument was that the benefit principle had a very limited scope because of the preference revelation problem a problem which tax choice effectively solves That s it that s our tax system in a nutshell That s the bottom line that readers should not have to wade through miles of minor details to find