The Impact of Income Inequality on Tax Structure in Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

2 Senior expert in the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In this article, the impact of income inequality (measured by both the Gini coefficient and the share of the
( top) wealthiest ten percent to the poorest ten percent) on tax structure in Iran in the period of 1978-2020 by using the ARDL model is investigated. The results showed that both in the short and long term, income inequality (both measures of income inequality) has increased the ratio of indirect taxes to GDP. While its impact on the direct tax ratio was negative. Therefore, income inequality leads to the turning of the tax capacity from direct taxes to indirect taxes. Therefore, the tax system in Iran has not been progressive and relies on indirect taxes. This result can be justified by the structure of Iran's economy, which is not easy to collect direct taxes due to the underground economy and tax evasion and the government is relying on indirect taxes to earn income.

Keywords

References

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