Questions of justice regarding the Swiss inheritance tax according to John Rawls

This article deals with the question of the fairness of Swiss inheritance tax law. Drawing on the theory of justice of the American philosopher John Rawls, it examines whether and in what form the taxation of inheritances can be qualified as fair. In addition, Rawls' position itself is critically examined and the question is asked whether an inheritance tax system based on his concept of justice would be desirable for Switzerland.

This article demonstrates that - in line with Rawls' concept of distributive justice - levying an inheritance tax can be a suitable instrument for influencing unjust social structures by means of redistribution and achieving greater equality of opportunity.

As far as the design of a fair inheritance tax is concerned, Rawls, on the other hand, represents an idea that differs (in part) from the Swiss system, but which proves to be neither feasible nor fair in practice. Nevertheless, this article demonstrates that the study of philosophical ideas and theories of justice can make an important contribution to jurisprudence. In particular, the discussed methodology of Rawls' veil of ignorance can be a helpful tool in the law-making process to examine laws for their fairness.

Like philosophy, jurisprudence should also regularly question its basic assumptions in order to always live up to its fundamental value - namely justice - in the best possible way. An interdisciplinary examination of inheritance tax is extremely valuable for the development of the law. Both the financial and social significance of an inheritance tax depends to a large extent on its specific form and, as this article will show, there is still room for maneuver and a need for action in this regard.

This article is the publication of the author's Master's thesis, which she submitted to the University of Basel in 2023. The thesis was awarded second place by the IFA Swiss Branch - out of all Master's theses on a tax or financial law topic submitted as part of a law or economics undergraduate course at a Swiss university.