Dr Rebecca Bramall: “It’s essential to recognize discrepancies between expert and non-expert understandings of taxation” 

The Finnish progressive think tank Kalevi Sorsa Foundation organized the second Tax Conference Veroareena in Helsinki on 2 February 2024. Dr Rebecca Bramall from University of the Arts London discussed the communicative and cultural dimensions of taxation in her conference presentation. Video of her presentation can be watched on our YouTube channel.

Dr Bramall is the project leader of the international Redistributive Imaginaries which examines the impact of digitalization on meanings and practices of redistribution. She has studied for instance how public debate on tax avoidance has influenced people’s views on taxation. 

In her presentation Bramall stressed that it is essential to “recognize discrepancies between expert and non-expert understandings of taxation”. Taking different perceptions into account could help in crafting the argument for more progressive tax policies. 

The digital economy has also an impact on political discussions. For instance tax policy is increasingly debated in social media instead of edited media. Additionally e.g. new crowdfunding platforms could change people’s expectations about how welfare provisions should be funded. Crowdfunding is utilized to fund similar activities as taxation such as culture and even social projects. 

The programme of the Tax Conference Veroareena 2024 as well as the video stream of the whole event are on the conference website. The next conference will be organized early in 2025. Kalevi Sorsa Foundation is also a partner in the Redistributive Imaginaries project. Other Finnish project partners Finnish Development NGOs Fingo and University of Lapland.