Revenue-Maximising or Revenue-Sacrificing Government? Property Tax in Pakistan
通过巴基斯坦财产税案例，指出政府往往优先追求规则最大化而非收入最大化，挑战了国家追求收入最大化的传统观点。
The idea that states seek to maximise their revenue collection has occupied a significant place in contemporary political economy analysis of taxation, and has helped us understand the history of state formation. It is, however, very much at variance with the daily experience of tax policy and practice. Governments are frequently revenue-sacrificers: they fail to use the functioning, legitimate tax collection systems they have available to actually collect much revenue. This paper details the case of property tax collection in Pakistan, and concludes that governments tend to maximise rule before they maximise revenue.