A regressive tax is a tax imposed in such a manner that the tax rate decreases as the amount subject to taxation increases.Webster (3): decreasing in rate as the base increases (a regressive tax)American Heritage (3). Decreasing proportionately as the amount taxed increases: a regressive tax.Dictionary.com (3).(of tax) decreasing proportionately with an increase in the tax base.Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Tax levied at a rate that decreases as its base increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), Concepts of Taxation, Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX "Regressive" describes a distribution effect on income or expenditure, referring to the way the rate progresses from high to low, so that the average tax rate exceeds the marginal tax rate.Hyman, David M. (1990) Public Finance: A Contemporary Application of Theory to Policy, 3rd, Dryden Press: Chicago, ILJames, Simon (1998) A Dictionary of Taxation, Edgar Elgar Publishing Limited: Northampton, MA
The regressivity of a particular tax can also factor the propensity of the taxpayers to engage in the taxed activity relative to their resources (the demographics of the tax base). In other words, if the activity being taxed is more likely to be carried out by the poor and less likely to be carried out by the rich, the tax may be considered regressive. To measure the effect, the income elasticity of the good being taxed as well as the income effect on consumption must be considered. The measure can be applied to individual taxes or to a tax system as a whole; a year, multi-year, or lifetime.
Examples
Poll taxes
A poll tax is a fixed sum levied on all individuals regardless of their economic circumstance. By the late 20th century most major economies severed the practice (e.g. twenty-fourth amendment or council tax).
Perhaps the most notable example of public's dissatisfaction with poll taxes is the Community Charge implemented by Margaret Thatcher. The handling of the tax system transmission and the aftermath of inept government intervention became subject to mass criticism. Negative impacts of the poll tax disproportionally fell on lower income groups; whilst an effective government would have provided extensive welfare programs and adjust national tax systems to aid those groups, the British government failed to provide any protection and only succeeded in antagonizing the beneficiaries of the reform.
The failure to gain public support only stagnated the already troublesome administrative burden. The result were riots and wide-spread noncompliance which rendered the tax uncollectable. Coupled with mismanagement of government injections and low tax revenue, the situation snowballed and endangered local autonomy which thus further fueled civic unrest. This stresses the importance of establishing tax systems which enjoy the wide support of the public and are simple to administer; The Community Charge was later scrapped and replaced under John Major's cabinet.
Lump-sum tax Lump-sum tax is a fixed tax imposed on individuals or businesses. It doesn’t vary based on income or wealth. This means that all taxpayers are required to pay the same fixed amount, regardless of their financial status.
Lump-sum tax practice has fallen out from the mainstream with only one country, Switzerland, still adhering to it. However, this trend is still challenged by some economists who believe in its efficiency due to factors like the simplicity of administration or lower tax evasion rates.
Recent studies suggest utilizing modified lump-sum tax as a form of a wealth tax. This is derived from the belief that wealth can based upon estimated consumption of the individual, thus the tax indirectly targets the presumably higher level of expenditure of wealthy individuals. It shifts the tax burden to people with a higher marginal propensity to consume. In this case, it assumed to be non-mandatory and one-time.
A tax with a cap A tax with a cap, above which no taxes are paid, such as the American Social Security Tax, which does not apply to wages over an annual limit.
Sin taxes Sin taxes (pigouvian taxes) levies imposed on goods and activities deemed harmful to individuals or society (most common examples are tobacco, alcohol or gambling). Regressivity in sin taxes stems from their disproportionate impact on lower-income households, who tend to allocate a larger share of their income to sin goods compared to wealthier individuals. Such taxes are often imposed at a uniform rate so they will make up a greater proportion of the final price of cheaper brands, compared to the higher-quality products generally consumed by the wealthy. For example, "people in the bottom income quintile spend a 78% larger share of their income on alcohol taxes than people in the top quintile." Tobacco in particular is highly regressive, with the bottom quintile of income paying an effective rate 583% higher than that of the top quintile. Other example is the fact that just 10% of households account for 80% of sin tax revenue in the USA.
Allowance reduction An allowance reduction in an income tax system allows for an individual's personal allowance to be withdrawn, making a higher marginal tax for a limited band before returning to the underlying rate. In the UK, there is an effective 60% band at £100,000, which returns to 40% at £120,000.
Excise taxation Non-uniform excise taxation based on everyday essentials like food (fat tax, salt tax), transport (fuel tax, fare hikes for public transport, mobility pricing), energy (carbon tax) and housing (council tax, window tax) is frequently regressive on income. The income elasticity of demand of food, for example, is usually less than 1 (inelastic) (see Engel's law) and therefore as a household's income rises, the tax collected on the food remains almost the same. Therefore, as a proportion of available expenditure, the relative tax burden falls more heavily on households with lower incomes. Some governments offer rebates to households with lower incomes, ostensibly in an effort to mitigate the regressive nature of these taxes.
A related concept exists where production and importation of essential goods are strictly controlled, such as milk, eggs, cheese and poultry under Canada's supply management system, the result being that the products will sell for a higher price than they would under a free market system. The difference in price is often criticized for being a "regressive tax" even though such products are generally not taxed directly.
Payroll taxes Payroll taxes, such as FICA and Unemployment Insurance in the United States, and consumption taxes such as value-added tax and sales taxes are regressive in that they both raise prices of purchased goods. Lower-income earners save and invest less money, so pay a larger proportion of their income toward these taxes, directly for sales tax and as the price increase required to make revenue covering payrolls for payroll taxes.
Tariffs Tariffs are a tax imposed on imported goods from another country. Their main purpose, besides increasing revenue, is to protect domestic industries, since governments can use tariffs to benefit particular industries, often doing so to protect companies and jobs. For example, a tariff might be imposed on an imported good that competes with a domestically-produced good, making the imported good more expensive and thus less attractive to consumers. In cases where lower-income people spend a higher proportion of their earnings on goods subject to tariffs, the tariffs can be considered regressive. As an example, a 2018 analysis of tariffs in the first Trump administration by the Centre for Economic Policy Research found that tariffs disproportionately affected poor Americans, single parents, and women.
Other forms of regressive taxes Property tax in regard to automobiles, better known as the "car tax" in some jurisdictions. Lotteries have been described as a disguised regressive tax.
Comparing progressive and regressive taxation
A progressive tax is a type of tax where the tax rate increases as the taxable amount or income increases. This means that individuals or entities with higher incomes pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes.Webster (4b): increasing in rate as the base increases (a progressive tax)American Heritage (6): Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Tax levied at a rate that increases as the quantity subject to taxation increases.Princeton University WordNet: (n) progressive tax (any tax with a rate that increases as the amount subject to taxation increases). On the contrary, a regressive tax is a tax system where the tax rate decreases as the taxable amount increases. This implies that as the value of the asset purchased or owned by the taxpayer increases, the tax rate applied decreases.
In a progressive tax system, the tax is levied on income or profit based on a rate schedule that increases as income or profit increases. This is in stark contrast to a regressive tax system, where the tax is charged as a percentage of the asset purchased or owned by the taxpayer, regardless of their income or ability to pay.
One of the key features of a progressive tax system is that it takes into account the taxpayer’s ability to pay. This means that higher-income individuals or entities are taxed at a higher rate because they have a greater ability to pay the tax. In contrast, in a regressive tax system, the level of income of the taxpayer is not considered. This means that the tax is applied equally to all taxpayers, regardless of their income level.
Progressive tax systems typically include all forms of direct taxes, which are taxes that are paid directly to the government by the individual or entity on whom it is imposed. On the other hand, regressive tax systems usually encompass all forms of indirect taxes, which are taxes that are collected by an intermediary (such as a retail store) from the person who bears the ultimate economic burden of the tax (such as the consumer).
In a progressive tax system, the marginal tax rate (the tax rate on the last dollar of income earned) is greater than the average tax rate (the total tax paid divided by total income earned). Conversely, in a regressive tax system, the marginal tax rate is lower than the average tax rate.
Measurement One common way to measure tax progressivity is by looking at the percentage change in after-tax income. This method assumes that a household’s economic wellbeing, or welfare, is closely linked to its after-tax income. Therefore, a tax cut that increases everyone’s after-tax income by the same percentage leaves the relative distribution of after-tax income unchanged. If a tax cut increases after-tax income proportionately more for lower-income taxpayers than for higher-income taxpayers, it will make the tax system more progressive (or less regressive). Conversely, a tax cut that increases after-tax income proportionately more for higher-income taxpayers than for lower-income taxpayers will make the tax system less progressive (or more regressive).
However, this method has its limitations. For instance, it does not take into account the fact that the burden of paying a certain amount of tax is much greater on a household with a lower income than it is on a household with a higher income. Therefore, some analysts believe that other measures, such as the share of the tax cut received, and the size of the tax cut in both absolute dollars and as a percentage of initial tax liability, are more accurate representations of the distribution of tax burdens.