What is the difference between marginal and average tax rates? Q.What is the difference between marginal and average tax rates? A.Average tax rates measure tax burden, while marginal tax rates measure the impact of taxes on incentives to earn, save, invest, or spend. Read more about What is the difference between marginal and average tax rates?
How should progressivity be measured? Q.How should progressivity be measured? A.A broad definition of progressivity, that tax burdens rise with household income, masks a host of ambiguities in measuring the effect of a tax change. The percentage change in after-tax income is the most reliable measure of the progressivity of such a change. Read more about How should progressivity be measured?
What criticisms are levied against standard distributional analysis? Q.What criticisms are levied against standard distributional analysis? A.Economists disagree on which taxes to include, how to measure tax burdens, what to assume about tax incidence, how to measure income, what period of analysis to use, and whether to include outlays in the calculations. Read more about What criticisms are levied against standard distributional analysis?
