Neoliberal taxation regimes and the articulation of sovereign state power

ABSTRACT

After decades of consistent refusal to curb international tax evasion, the US Biden administration has recently proposed an international scheme for taxing the world’s largest transnational companies. This article seeks to better understand why it is so difficult to develop an international scheme controlling tax evasion by examining the role played by neoliberal governmentalities and their link to sovereign power. It is argued that neoliberal governmentalities have been crucial in propagating a design of sovereign power that is conducive to tax competition and, ultimately, to tax evasion. Yet, these divergences also seem to provide a space for reforming current taxation regimes.

KEYWORDS:

• Governmentality
• sovereign power
• elitism
• taxation
• the European Union

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Triantafillou

Peter Triantafillou is a professor in public administration and politics. His research interests are with the role played by neoliberalism and other political rationalities of government in contemporary power-knowledge relations. He is currently research politics of taxation, public health and performance auditing.