Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 46
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- Progressive tax systems, in particular direct taxes, are one of the most important tools available to Governments in addressing income inequality. Personal income tax is one of the most progressive and important kinds of tax in this regard. Indirect taxes, such as those based on consumption (such as value-added or sales taxes) are typically regressive, because they generally constitute a larger proportion of the income of people living in poverty; for example, in Latin America, on average for the poorest 20 per cent of the population, sales tax accounts for 13.7 per cent of their income, while only 5.8 per cent of income for the richest 20 per cent. Thus, despite exemptions aimed at decreasing the burden on lower-income groups, the poor bear a tax burden 2.4 times higher than that of the wealthiest people. Women, who tend to use larger portions of their income on basic goods because of gender norms that assign them responsibility for the care of dependents, bear the regressive brunt of consumption taxes.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Other
- Paragraph number
- 46
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