Journal Articles

Getting a Poor Return: Courts, Justice and Governing Coalitions and the Audits of Low-Income Taxpayers

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Many years ago Robert Dahl (1957) argued that the courts are rarely out of alignment with the dominant
national political coalition and more recent scholarship has built on this argument. However, despite this,
it is still a prevalent belief that courts protect the minority against the power of the majority.
This article analyzes these views by examining the influence of the national coalition and courts on tax policy. The article shows that from 1994 through 2000 a shift to more low-income audits results from political and judicial influence on the agency. The dominant national political coalition, the Tax Court, and to a lesser extent the District Courts, are major players in setting and determining agency policy. This confirms what Dahl noted years ago, namely that the courts are rarely out of alignment with the dominant national political coalition, and actually enforce the policy preferences of the dominant political coalition.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Journal of Theoretical Politics

Call Number

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Publisher

California : Sage Publications., 2008

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0951-6298

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Vol. 20, No. 2, April 2008. Page 181-200

Subject(s)

Public policy
courts
IRS
justice
taxes
Getting a Poor Return

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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