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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Mar 14.
Published in final edited form as: Z Psychol. 2008;216(4):209–217. doi: 10.1027/0044-3409.216.4.209

Table 1.

Distributive justice, procedural justice and retributive justice by individual, group and societal level (Wenzel, 2003, p. 49ff)

Level of analysis Societal level Group level Individual level
Distributive justice in tax research
Tax burdens tax level; distribution;
progressivity		 in-group's tax
burden; compared to
other groups; other
times; its relative
income		 personal tax burden;
compared to others;
other times; one's
relative income
Tax based benefits level of spending;
efficiency;
distribution over
different policies		 in-group's benefits;
compared to other
groups; other times;
its relative income		 personal benefits
compared to others;
other times; one's
relative taxes
Avoidance/evasion
opportunities		 level; distribution of
opportunities		 in-group's options
relative to other
groups		 personal options
compared to others;
other times
Procedural justice in tax research
Interactional
treatment		 rights for taxpayers
and service standards		 respect for the in-
group; consistency
relative to other
groups		 respect for the
individual;
consistency relative
to other individuals
Process and decision
control		 consultation of
taxpayers in general;
democratic structures		 voice; control,
consultation and
representation of in-
group		 voice; control;
consultation of
individual
Information and
explanation		 transparency;
presentation in media		 explanation and
justifications for
decisions affecting
the in-group		 explanations and
justifications for
decisions affecting
the individual
Compliance costs administration and
compliance costs;
complexity of the tax
system		 efficiency; service
versus costs for the
group		 efficiency; service
versus costs for the
individual
Retributive justice in tax research
Penalties severity of penalties;
distribution penalties
for different offences;
quality of penalties		 appropriateness of
penalty for in-group
(relative to the
offence, others)		 appropriateness of
penalty for individual
(relative to the
offence, others)
Audits rigidity or
inconsiderateness of
audits in general		 rigidity or
inconsiderateness of
audit for in-group
case		 rigidity or
inconsiderateness of
audit for individual
case