Anthony C. Infanti, Tax and Time: On the Use and Misuse of Legal Imagination (NYU Press 2022)

Anthony C. Infanti (Pitt) has published a new book, Tax and Time: On the Use and Misuse of Legal Imagination, with NYU Press (2022). Here is the publisher's description:

The relationship between tax law and society, Anthony C. Infanti asserts, is too often overlooked by those who work outside of the field of fiscal policy. Yet, the way a country collects and spends its revenue can be viewed as a quantifiable reflection of how a country sees itself, sending messages about both what it values now and what it aspires to be in the future.

Tax and Time sheds light on two of the most misunderstood universal human experiences: time and taxes. Anthony C. Infanti asserts that time in tax law is the product of pure imagination and calls into question the world beyond time that we have created for ourselves. Written with clarity and powerful insight, Tax and Time demonstrates how the tax laws have been used to imaginatively manipulate time in ways that perpetuate economic and social injustice. With its social justice focus, the book brings a sorely needed critical perspective to technical tax policy discussions. Infanti calls for a systematic reexamination and reworking of the relationship between time and tax law, asserting that the power of the legal imagination to manipulate time in tax law can both correct past injustices and help us to envision—and actually work toward—a better and more just society.

 

The book is available for purchase on the NYU Press page here. For anyone interested in a sneak peek, a copy of the book's introduction is available here on SSRN.

 

I love this book for so many reasons. Tony Infanti writes beautifully and with great expertise, toggling seamlessly among black-letter concepts,  sophisticated theory, and multiple jurisdictions (France and Spain provide vibrant counterpoints to US law throughout the book). The book also has an origin story that transports us back to pre-pandemic days:

 

The idea for this book can be traced back to the Law & Society Association's 2016 annual meeting in New Orleans. Though the annual meeting now has a full complement of tax panels, I like to visit panels that have nothing to do with tax but sound just as intriguing. What intrigued me at the New Orleans meeting was a panel titled "Law and Time." The presentations turned out to be fascinating, and I walked away spurred to think about the myriad of ways in which questions of time and timing pervade tax law. My mind was spinning with ideas as I enthusiastically recounted my experience to my dinner companions that evening. But because I had just working just begun working on a different book project, I wasn't immediately able to pursue this new and exciting avenue of inquiry and decided instead to jot down a few notes in the file where I keep track of potential areas for future research. 

 

Two years later, with that earlier book nearing publication in the thirst to explore the relationship between tax and time never quenched, I looked back at my notes and began to think more deeply about the relationship between tax and time. * * * *

 

Virtual conferences are not all bad; in fact, they have many commendable aspects (lower costs + carbon footprints than in-person conferences, for example). But one thing I do miss is the ability to wander into seemingly unrelated sessions and leave as inspired as Tony was.

 

Both tax specialists and general audiences will appreciate this book's look at the concept of time in the law and its connection to larger questions of economic and social fairness. Highly recommended!