Sara Torregrosa Hetland
Senior lecturer
Sistema fiscal y redistribución: la transición fiscal española (1960-1990)
Tax system and redistribution: the Spanish fiscal transition (1960-1990)
Author
Summary, in English
This thesis analyses the Spanish tax system between 1960 and 1990, with special attention to its effects on the income distribution. It provides with a quantitative consistent evaluation of the reforms that took place during transition to democracy.
Because of the long dictatorship suffered by the country between 1936/39 and
1976, Spain introduced the 20th Century tax ideas with a considerable lag with respect to its neighbours. Taxes were low, regressive and inefficient. With the return of democracy, several tax reform laws intended to make the system more progressive and able to generate increased public revenue, in order to fund an emerging Welfare State.
The principle of progressivity, however, had limited practical application. The calculations of the thesis show this by estimating the resulting distribution of the tax burden, the persistent levels of income inequality, and the strong impact of tax evasion in personal income taxation.
The offered interpretation looks at the legacies of the dictatorship on the institutional design of the parliamentary regime, and the new economic context, combining lower growth and increased openness and international capital mobility.
Because of the long dictatorship suffered by the country between 1936/39 and
1976, Spain introduced the 20th Century tax ideas with a considerable lag with respect to its neighbours. Taxes were low, regressive and inefficient. With the return of democracy, several tax reform laws intended to make the system more progressive and able to generate increased public revenue, in order to fund an emerging Welfare State.
The principle of progressivity, however, had limited practical application. The calculations of the thesis show this by estimating the resulting distribution of the tax burden, the persistent levels of income inequality, and the strong impact of tax evasion in personal income taxation.
The offered interpretation looks at the legacies of the dictatorship on the institutional design of the parliamentary regime, and the new economic context, combining lower growth and increased openness and international capital mobility.
Department/s
- Department of Economic History
Publishing year
2016
Language
Spanish
Pages
149-180
Publication/Series
Perfiles Económicos
Volume
1
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Topic
- Economic History
Keywords
- inequality
- tax reform
- redistribution
- progressivity
- democratization
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0719-756X