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2022-08-01

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(c) Torregrosa-Hetland, Sara et al., 2022
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/189192

Income tax progressivity and inflation during the world wars

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Abstract

This paper studies the impact of inflation on income taxes in Sweden, the UK, and the United States during the world wars. As tax reforms were rising top marginal rates and reducing exemption thresholds, extraordinary levels of inflation eroded the real value of exemptions, brackets, and deductions. The micro-simulation of actual and alternative scenarios shows that inflation made the tax less progressive, particularly in Sweden during World War I and the UK during World War II. Nevertheless, its redistributive effect increased due to the related growth in tax revenue. Inflation contributed to transform a 'class tax'' into a 'mass tax'.

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https://doi.org/10.1093/ereh/heab020

Subject

Guerra Mundial I, 1914-1918, Guerra Mundial II, 1939-1945, Impost sobre la renda de les persones físiques, Inflació

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World War, 1914-1918, World War, 1939-1945, Personal income tax, Inflation

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Articles publicats en revistes (Història Econòmica, Institucions, Política i Economia Mundial)

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TORREGROSA-HETLAND, Sara and SABATÉ DOMINGO, Oriol. Income tax progressivity and inflation during the world wars. European Review of Economic History. 2022. Vol. 26, num. 3, pags. 311-339. ISSN 1361-4916. [consulted: 6 of October of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/189192

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