Fleming, J. Clifton, Jr.Peroni, Robert J.Shay, Stephen2015-12-172001J. Clifton Fleming, Jr., Robert J. Peroni & Stephen E. Shay, Fairness in International Taxation: The Ability-to-Pay Case for Taxing Worldwide Income, 5 Fla. Tax Rev. 299 (2001).1066-3487http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:23938600Although the ability-to-pay fairness principle is a foundational element of American income tax policy, it has played a surprisingly small role in evaluating the U.S. international income tax regime. Perhaps this is because the application of the ability-to-pay concept to international income taxation is complicated by the presence of foreign taxpayers, by income earned through C corporations and by the claims of other governments to tax cross-border income. Nevertheless, it is possible, and indeed essential, to analyze international tax policy in terms of fairness. In this article, we extensively explore the international dimension of the ability-to-pay norm. We argue that this fairness criterion supports the conclusion that taxing worldwide income and ending the deferral privilege provides a tax regime that is superior to either the current U.S. international income tax system or the adoption of an exemption system.en-USJournal Article2015-12-17