Most public finance books are texts, which are aimed at undergraduate or graduate students. They are overly technical in nature and appeal only to a narrow range of bureaucrats and academics. Books on taxation are written for tax practitioners and usually emphasize either what the law is or how to maneuver through the labyrinth of tax law to minimize taxes for clients. Philosophy books on taxation or public finance simply do not exist.

The Philosophy of Taxation and Public Finance is different. It is written in nontechnical language and is aimed to appeal to a wide range of readers, including practitioners, academics and students in the fields of taxation, public finance, economics, law, philosophy and political science as well as general readers who are interested in learning why they are being taxed the way they are. The author addresses the major issues and topics in taxation and public finance and injects them with philosophical insights. He discusses questions such as:
-What arguments have been used to justify taxation?
-When is tax evasion unethical?
-Are some taxes better than others?
-What are the proper functions of government?
-How much is enough? Is the ability to pay concept valid?
-When can punitive taxes be justified?

Business success or failure is often determined by decisions made in establishing selling prices for products and services. . . . In this clear and readable work, the authors present a good summary of the literature on pricing policy, emphasizing the relevance of costs. They propose a system that involves analyzing indirect costs to distinguish those that may be relevant to pricing in some circumstances but not others. This `analytical contribution accounting' has promise as a tool for many businesses. Students writing papers on costs and pricing policy would find this volume a useful starting point. The bibliography is good. . . . College and university collections.

Using practical examples and simple language, this book develops an accounting system that is a new and functional key to making product pricing decisions. This accounting system, which bridges the gap between full and direct costing, is called Analytical Contribution Accounting. Georges and McGee demonstrate practically as well as theoretically why it is so superior for pricing purposes. The system is based on the relativity aspects implicit in the direct cost method, and on the calculations of a set of differentiated contributions.