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Economics vocabulary · Fiscal Policy and Public Finance

Progressive tax

Meaning in economics, with examples

nounCommon term

In economics, progressive tax means: A tax that takes a larger share of income from people who earn more, usually through higher rates on higher income brackets.

In Turkish: artan oranlı vergi

How it is used

Most income tax systems, including Turkey's, are progressive. The opposite is a regressive tax, which takes a larger share of income from the poor; many taxes on spending work this way. A flat tax has one rate for everyone.

Example sentences

  1. Under a progressive tax system, a surgeon pays a higher rate than a shop assistant.

  2. Some economists argue that a more progressive tax system would reduce inequality.

Common collocations

  • progressive tax system
  • progressive income tax
  • highly progressive
  • regressive tax
  • flat tax
  • income taxA tax that people pay on the money they earn from work, savings, rent and other sources, usually taken directly from wages.
  • taxationThe system by which a government collects money from people and businesses through taxes on income, profits, spending and property.
  • inequalityThe unequal distribution of income, wealth or opportunities between people or groups in a society, or between countries.
  • redistributionThe transfer of income or wealth from some groups to others, mainly from richer to poorer people, through taxes, benefits and public services.
  • income distributionHow a country's total income is shared out among its people or households, from the poorest to the richest.

More terms: Fiscal Policy and Public Finance

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