Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom Through the Ages

Placeholder author icon
By Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod ’73

Published March 23, 2021

In his book, Slemrod and his co-author discusses seemingly illogical and at times preposterous systems of taxation from history, such as Tsar Peter the Great’s tax on beards, to help us better make sense of current tax policy debates.

Paw in print

Image
The October 2025 cover of PAW, featuring an illustration of a woman dressed like Superman, but the S on her chest is a dollar sign.
The Latest Issue

October 2025

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ’92; President Eisgruber ’83 defends higher ed; Julia Ioffe ’05 explains Russia.