Vivien LEVY-GARBOUA and Gérard MAAREK have co-authored a new book entitled "Impôts, le Grand Désordre" at Presses universitaires de France (PUF) that tackles the question of the French tax system. Description.

The French tax system is in great disarray: it is complex, unstable and levies record high sums. Yet public opinion continues to nurture great expectations: taxes should fight pollution, stimulate employment and research, reduce tobacco consumption, fund the public education and health systems. The list is endless and the success of this fiscal activism is rare. Governments have a hard time gaging taxpayers' reactions, and they often miss their target, all the while wasting public funds in the process. Tax policy is also intended to serve social justice. But to promote equality of opportunity and improve the situation of the poorest, one need not focus obsessively on the wealthiest, “the 1%” - who are here to remain. This work draws up an inventory. How did we get here? What principles can establish a "good tax"? It is also a call for reform and to fight against the “can-do attitude” with respect to the State and taxes, which has become a veritable doxa. Let’s break some taboos.

Translated from the editor's frontpiece. 

The book is available now on the PUF's website (in French)

Vivien LEVY-GARBOU, graduate of the École Polytechnique-Mines and who holds a PhD from Harvard, is a member of the Department’s Associated & Affiliated Faculty.

Gérard MAAREK, graduate of the École Polytechnique-ENSAE, is former Secretary General of INSÉE and heads the Economic Studies division of a major bank.

They previously published together La Dette, le Boom, la Crise (Economica 1985), MacroPsychanalyse, l’économie de l’Inconscient , PUF, 2007 and Capitalisme, Finance, Démocratie (Economica 2014).