Public Revenue without Taxation

The author argues that the recurrent economic ills that beset modern industrial economies are the result of the failure of orthodox economic theories. At the heart of the problem lies a lack of understanding of the harmful effects of taxation on a trading economy. Governments must raise revenue to finance their operations, but it has been assumed that taxation is the only means. Dr. Burgess maintains that this is an error that has distorted the efficient operation of modern trading economies and that there is a natural source of government revenue, natural in the sense of arising from the nature of a trading economy. Having argued his case by reference to classical, neoclassical, and modern economists, he indicates how reform may be introduced with a minimum of disruption, so that politicians, with an eye to the next election, may reap some results within the life of a parliament.