ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book argues that it is unwise to assume that the installation of an American-type system in the UK will necessarily replicate any efficiency which has been achieved there, and that it is necessary to consider what it is about Americans which causes them to self-assess. It considers a range of questions, structured around the identification of cultures of tax collection, or theories of tax collection law, in the US and the UK. The book explains that self-assessment has persisted in the US because of a culture of acceptance. It predicts that the interaction between self-assessment and Ramsay will be highly charged. The book considers the nature of the subject of taxation in the context of the introduction of a US-inspired method of tax collection, self-assessment, in the UK. It explains the constitutional histories of jurisdictions and the possibilities for abuse of those powers.
