The Political Economy of Transnational Tax Reform
The Shoup Mission to Japan in Historical Context

These essays explore the history of the US tax mission to Japan during the occupation following World War II.

W. Elliot Brownlee (Edited by), Eisaku Ide (Edited by), Yasunori Fukagai (Edited by)

9781316603390, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 April 2016

486 pages, 8 b/w illus. 10 tables
22.9 x 15.3 x 3.1 cm, 0.76 kg

This volume of essays explores the history of the US tax mission to Japan during the occupation following World War II. Under General MacArthur, economist Carl S. Shoup led the mission with the charge of framing a tax system for Japan designed to strengthen democracy and accelerate economic recovery. The volume examines the sources, conduct and effects of the mission and situates the mission within the history of international financial and fiscal reform. The book begins by establishing the context of progressive social investigations of taxation, including Shoup's earlier tax missions to France and Cuba. It then goes on to explore the Japanese background to the Shoup mission and the process by which American and Japanese tax experts shaped their recommendations. The book then assesses and explains the mission's accomplishments in the context of the political economies of the United States and Japan. It concludes by analyzing the global implications of the mission, which became iconic among international tax reformers.

Preface
Introduction: global tax reform and an iconic mission
Part I. The American Background: Foreword for Part I
1. Carl S. Shoup: formative influences W. Elliot Brownlee
2. From Seligman to Shoup: the early Columbia school of taxation and development Ajay Mehrotra
3. The Haig-Shoup mission to France in the 1920s Frances Lynch
4. The Shoup missions to Cuba Michael R. Adamson
5. Mr Shoup goes to Washington: Carl Shoup and his tax advice to the US Treasury Joseph J. Thorndike
Part II. Shoup in Japan: The Encounter: Foreword for Part II
6. Political languages of land and taxation: European and American influences on Japan, 1880s–1920s Yasunori Fukagai
7. Raising taxes for democracy: the Japanese policy environment of the Shoup mission Laura Hein and Mark Metzler
8. Shoup and the Japan mission: organizing for investigation W. Elliot Brownlee and Eisaku Ide
9. Shoup in the 'social laboratory' W. Elliot Brownlee and Eisaku Ide
10. Tax reform during the American occupation of Japan: who killed Shoup? Ryo Muramatsu and W. Elliot Brownlee
Part III. Legacies for Japan: Foreword for Part III
11. Avoiding the aid curse? Taxation and development in Japan Monica Prasad
12. The Shoup recommendations and Japan's tax-cutting culture: why has Japan failed to reestablish the personal income tax as a key tax? Takatsugu Akaishi
13. A political dispute over the local public finance equalization grant: the legacy of Shoup's policy choices Eisaku Ide
14. The corporate income tax in postwar Japan and the Shoup recommendations: why did the corporate income tax become so high? Satoshi Sekiguchi
Part IV. Global Significance: Foreword for Part IV
15. The Shoup mission: the context of post-World War II debates over international economic policy Martin Daunton
16. Shoup and international tax reform after the Japan mission W. Elliot Brownlee and Eisaku Ide.

Subject Areas: Taxation [KFFD1], Economic history [KCZ], Political economy [KCP], International economics [KCL]