1. Sustainable Intergenerational Justice Through Tax Policy
Jon Forman
University of Oklahoma College of Law
&
Roberta Mann
University of Oregon School of Law
for the workshop on
Sustainable taxation – Global challenges and legal solutions
Gävle, Sweden, April 8−9, 2019
Copyright © 2019, Jonathan Barry Forman & Roberta F. Mann

2. Sustainable Intergenerational Justice
the logical result of a Rawlsian experiment in which the decisions about societal rules are based on the choices made by individuals from an original position that lies behind a veil of ignorance—and with generational blindness
Sustainable Intergenerational Justice
The current generation should use resources no faster than it replaces them or develops economic substitutes for them.
The current generation should leave earth in a survivable condition.
The current generation may need to invest so that future generations can enjoy the same or better standard of living.

3. How Can Tax Policy Influence Sustainable Intergenerational Justice?
Government choices about the level of taxation and spending will clearly have an impact on the well-being of future generations.
Government choices about the mix of taxes that are used to raise revenue will affect the resources available to future generations.
We start with some background on:
the resources of U.S. households.
U.S. taxes, deficits, and debt

4. Sustainable Development
Richard W. Howarth Sustainability, Well-Being, and Economic Growth. Minding Nature. 5(2): 32, 33 fig..

5. U.S. Personal Income Per Capita
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED Economic Data.

6. U.S. Net Worth Level ($billions)
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED Economic Data.

7. Will future generations live as long?

8. Life expectancy & inequality
Most equal ranking 2
Denmark
0.248 3
Norway
0.250 5
Belgium
0.259 6
Finland 7
Sweden 25
Australia
0.336 27
United Kingdom
0.345 28
Portugal
0.353 30
USA
0.378

9. U.S. Federal Revenue by Source, 2018
Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Where Taxes came from in 2018 (January 31, 2018),

10. Urban-Brookings Policy Center, Some Background, https://www
Urban-Brookings Policy Center, Some Background, (last visited 27 March 2019)

11. U.S. Government’s Spending and Revenues, 2000−2048
Congressional Budget Office The 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook. P. 6 fig.2. June.

12. U.S. Deficits and Surpluses
Congressional Budget Office The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2019 to P. 6 fig.1-1. January.

13. U.S. Government’s Public Debt
Congressional Budget Office The 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook. P. 6 fig.2. June.

14. U.S. Government Receipts and Spending,1980−2092
U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Report of the United States Government: Fiscal Year P. 22 cht.G.

15. Fiscal Gaps in Major Developed Countries, 2012
Country
Fiscal Gap as a Share of the Present Value of GDP
U.S.
13.7
Germany
1.4
United Kingdom
5.4
Netherlands
5.9
France
1.6
Spain
4.8
Italy
-2.3
Sweden
1.7
Kotlikoff, Laurence J America’s Fiscal Insolvency and Its Generational Consequences. Testimony to the Senate Budget Committee. P. 8. February 25. Available at

16. Future generations deserve current investment in infrastructure
Our Nation’s aging and deteriorating infrastructure is further stressed by increases in heavy pre- cipitation events, coastal flooding, heat, wildfires, and other extreme events, as well as changes to average precipitation and temperature. Without adaptation, climate change will continue to de- grade infrastructure performance over the rest of the century, with the potential for cascading im- pacts that threaten our economy, national security, essential services, and health and well-being.

17. Public spending adds to growth

18. U.S. Marginal Tax Rates, Federal Income and Payroll Taxes
Congressional Budget Office. 2019b. Marginal Federal Tax Rates on Labor Income: 1962 to Cover page. January.

19. 45 States Impose Sales Taxes
Nicole Kaeding Sales Tax Base Broadening: Right-Sizing a State Sales Tax. Tax Foundation, Fiscal Fact No P. 3 fig.1.

20. Changing Patterns of Consumption
Nicole Kaeding Sales Tax Base Broadening: Right-Sizing a State Sales Tax. Tax Foundation, Fiscal Fact No P. 4 fig.2.

21. Projected future costs of climate change
U.S. Global Climate Change Research Program, 4th climate assessment 2018
” Climate change creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth.”
“Without substantial and sustained global mitigation and regional adaptation efforts, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century.”

22. Investment in education will benefit future generations

23. About the Authors
Jon is the Kenneth E. McAfee Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and the author of Making America Work (Urban Institute Press, 2006). He can be reached at ,
Roberta is the Mr. & Mrs. L. L. Stewart Professor of Business Law at the University of Oregon School of Law and the author of many articles about the tax treatment of energy, including Another Day Older and Deeper in Debt: How Tax Incentives Encourage Burning Coal and the Consequences for Global Warming, 20 Glob. Bus. & Dev. L.J. 111 (2007). She can be reached at ,