Reviving Capital Transfer Tax Scholarship

Inspired by the Hayton and Tiley text, Capital Transfer Tax, this chapter reconsiders this famous twentieth century tax in four parts. First, the significance of the complicated and controversial history of the legislation introducing this tax is explored. Possible connections between this history, and some of the objections to the tax in the following years, are considered in the second part. The third part addresses perhaps the most significant legacy of this era, the case of Pearson v CIR. The final section weighs the Hayton and Tiley text for historical resonance, and finds there is much of modern value. Ultimately, the chapter advances the thesis that Hayton and Tiley sought to understand capital transfer tax both as a product of, and a part of, the system in which it operated