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 Guest removed with the explanation that this entry doesnt contain the terms used in my sentence    Theres a theoretical explanation for the worlds current tax systemeither that or were all crazy  If youre saying that this entry doesnt at all discuss the theoretical basis for our tax systemthen clearly thats a problem  You dont solve that problem by removing the one sentence that does mention the justification for our tax systemyou solve it by creating the section that does provide the justification  In order to do thatyou first have to review all the references that I added to the benefit principle entry  If youre not willing to make that effortthen please dont edit this entry   Having already read through all those reliable sources and many many many moreheres my take  This paperThe Pure Theory of Public Expenditureby Paul Samuelson has been cited over  times  It provides the definitive theoretical justification for our tax system  Samuelsons argument was that the benefit principle had a very limited scope because of the preference revelation problema problem which tax choice effectively solves Thats itthats our tax system in a nutshell  Thats the bottom line that readers should not have to wade through miles of minor details to find