The modern state is a ‘tax state’ (Schumpeter 1918). The level and structure of tax revenue determines what a government can and cannot do, how many civil servants it can hire, how many services it can deliver, how modestly or ambitiously it can define its goals, and how effectively it can constitute its authority domestically and internationally.

The level and structure of taxation also shapes the society the government governs. It determines who has to pay for the state and who not, who gains and who loses, who is empowered and who is dis-empowered. The 2021 spring master class at HSG has created 21 podcasts to inform listeners about the political economy of taxation – from wars to tax competition, from tampons to climate, from tax administrations in Africa to sex and taxes in Switzerland.

Start listening to the podcasts and learn more about the exciting world of taxation!