Inflation and the Personal Income Tax : An International Perspective

Inflation distorts income taxes in many ways, but primarily by redistributing the tax burden among taxpayers.

Inflation distorts income taxes in many ways, but primarily by redistributing the tax burden among taxpayers. This study analyses in detail the effects of inflation on income tax systems in many countries. It examines some of the more important distortions of income tax systems caused by inflation and discusses possible corrective measures, ranging from automatic adjustments (indexation) to ad hoc responses. These corrective measures are compared with the actual experiences of many countries that have pursued policies aimed at neutralizing the effects of inflation. By treating the problem of inflation and income taxes in a comprehensive manner and from an international perspective, this book fills an important gap in the income tax literature and will prove valuable to professional economists, policy makers concerned with tax problems, tax lawyers and accountants.