Number: RL32693
Title: Distribution of the Tax Burden Across Individuals: An Overview
Authors: Jane G. Gravelle and Maxim Shvedov, Government and Finance Division 
Abstract: The first section of this report, which is normative in nature, therefore discusses different philosophies about how the tax burden should be distributed, and what those philosophies imply for the shape of the tax system. In particular, it addresses the question of the justifications for a progressive tax system (one where the share of income collected as a tax rises as income rises). This section is presented for the interested reader, but is not a necessary preliminary to examining the analysis in the second section, which presents estimates of the distribution of the federal and total U.S. tax burden. The third section of the report discusses the measures that can be used to characterize the distributional effects of tax changes.
Pages: 29
Date: December 13, 2004