[Rezension zu Josef Kaizl: Die Lehre von der Ueberwälzung der Steuern]

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk: Review of Josef Kaizl’s Die Lehre von der Ueberwälzung der Steuern (1883)

Böhm-Bawerk’s review evaluates Kaizl’s study of tax shifting by distinguishing its historical and conceptual achievements from its limited original contribution. He follows the book’s three-part structure: a substantial history of tax-shifting doctrine from Adam Smith onward, an exposition of basic concepts and categories, and an examination of shifting under hypothetical income taxation. Kaizl’s conclusion, as reported by the reviewer, is that entirely uniform income-tax assessment would prevent shifting, whereas unequal taxation would permit it.

The review’s governing judgment privileges the first two sections:

Unter den drei Abtheilungen kommt den beiden ersteren der grössere Werth zu.

English translation: Among the three sections, the greater value belongs to the first two.

Böhm-Bawerk praises the doctrinal history for diligence and thoroughness and finds several conceptual definitions successful. His objection concerns the discrepancy between the book’s broad title and the narrow scope of its original theoretical analysis. The third section’s limited content fits its special heading, but does not fulfill the expectation of a treatment of tax-shifting theory as a whole.

Statt dessen werden aus dem Eigenen des Verfassers nur einige Fragmente geboten, die zwar nicht ohne Verdienst, aber weder umfassend genug, noch auch von hinlänglicher Vertiefung sind, um eine wesentliche Förderung der Ueberwälzungstheorie zu bedeuten.

English translation: Instead, only a few fragments of the author's own are offered, which, though not without merit, are neither comprehensive enough nor of sufficient depth to signify any essential advancement of the theory of tax shifting.

The criticism is thus about theoretical breadth and depth, rather than an explicit refutation of Kaizl’s income-tax proposition. Böhm-Bawerk distinguishes useful scholarship and conceptual clarification from a substantial advance in explanation. His closing assessment preserves that distinction without dismissing the book:

Immerhin bleibt das mit Fleiss und Scharfsinn gearbeitete Buch recht lesenswerth.

English translation: Still, the book, worked out with diligence and acumen, remains quite worth reading.