Into and Out of Citizenship, through Personal Tax Payments

Abstract

This article builds on observations of self-employed Romanian migrants and their encounters with UK fiscal obligations to position tax as a distinct node in the worker-citizen nexus. Speaking to anthropological critiques of neoliberalism, I argue that economic activity is not merely the ethical imperative of a political order premised on self-reliance. It is also a practical test of migrants’ abilities to translate the moral capital of ‘hard work’ into the categories and bureaucracy of fiscal contribution. Analyzing migrants’ compliance with immigration controls and fiscal regimes, seen as a duty to ‘account for oneself’ in moral and financial terms, this article theorizes tax returns as a key junction in the worker-citizen nexus—one that can allow migrants into, but also confine them to the margins of, European citizenship.

Tax and governance in rural areas: The implications of inefficient tax collection

“…Though we know that taxation does not consistently lead to accountability or greater taxpayer engagement (Gallien et al, 2021; Gallien & van den Boogaard, 2021; Joshi et al, 2014; Prichard, 2015), in policy and popular narratives, there is often the perception that in “the modern world, taxation is the social contract” (Martin et al, 2009, 1 original emphasis). Paying taxes is often central to asserting rights to citizenship and property or to access state services or other benefits (Johansson, 2020; Roitman, 2007; Smith, 2020; Vicol, 2020). “No taxation without political representation” (Locke, 1698), however, need not imply that there be no political representation without taxation.…”

From ‘beasts of burden’ to ‘backbone of society’: The fiscal forging of a new Bolivian middle class

“…They can also create narratives of how wealth is produced and flows in society (Guyer, 1992; Makovicky and Smith, 2020; Mugler, 2018; Roitman, 2005; Sheild Johansson, 2020b); and perpetuate ideologies of modernity and ideal citizenship (Smith, 2020). In this body of work taxes are understood as both crucial to how people conceptualise and manage their own citizenship and class position (Sheild Johansson, 2020a; Vicol, 2020) and a means through which to shape citizens into governable subjects through, for instance, processes of accounting or increased legibility (Hobson, 2004; Preston, 1989; Scott, 1998).…”

Not “Civilized” Enough to Be Taxed: Indigeneity, Citizenship, and the 1919 Alaska School Tax

“…This article seeks to contribute to the growing body of scholarship on the relationship between tax law, identity-making, and citizenship (Kotsonis 2004, 2014; Likhovski 2007, 2017; Infanti and Crawford 2009; Martin, Mehrotra, and Prasad 2009; Zelenak 2013; S. Tillotson 2017; Williamson 2017; Willmott 2017; Vicol 2020). “Taxation,” Assaf Likhovski explains, “is not only a revenue-raising tool or an incentive-providing mechanism, but also a method for social construction—a way to create a shared identity and common notions of citizenship and community” (2017, 14).…”

“…This article seeks to contribute to the growing body of scholarship on the relationship between tax law, identity-making, and citizenship (Kotsonis 2004(Kotsonis , 2014Likhovski 2007Likhovski , 2017Infanti and Crawford 2009;Martin, Mehrotra, and Prasad 2009;Zelenak 2013;S. Tillotson 2017;Williamson 2017;Willmott 2017;Vicol 2020). "Taxation," 1922b, 1161-62 (table 10).…”