Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“From time to time I see or hear claims that Adam Smith favored progressive taxation, on at least one occasion that he favored a progressive income tax. One passage from The Wealth of Nations I have seen offered in support of the claim: ‘The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.’ Taxation in proportion to revenue is not progressive taxation but proportional taxation, in modern terminology a flat tax. The quote not only is not evidence for the claim, it is evidence against it, important evidence since it is the first of the maxims with which Smith introduces his discussion of taxes.” (0807/25)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/misrepresenting-adam-smith-11a