Crossing Borders, Sharing Burdens: Rethinking Taxation and Migration as Fiscal Belonging

Tax matters. It structures our societies, influences our choices, and reflects our values. Yet the meaning and impact of taxation are constantly changing in step with a world marked by climate transitions, demographic shifts, digitalisation, globalisation, and migration.

This open access book addresses critical questions surrounding attitudes to tax and tax compliance through the lens of ‘fiscal belonging,’ demonstrating the value of qualitative approaches to tax research. It explores the lived experience of immigrants to the UK, and how feelings of belonging, exclusion, reciprocity, and obligation shape their encounters with the tax system. The book illuminates the many different facets of fiscal belonging, including the right to work and access to employment, as well as histories of colonialism and the economic history of different communities on a national scale. By foregrounding personal narratives and the complexity of social worlds, this book argues for more methodologically diverse and inclusive approaches to understanding why people do, or do not, pay tax. It will be of interest to scholars across disciplines, as well as tax professionals working in business, consultancy, and public administration.