Assesment of the Results of Personal Income Tax Reform in Russia

Abstract

The paper contains results of the analysis of personal income tax reform in Russia in 2000, including the influence of the reform on tax base, tax revenues and progressivity of income taxation. On the basis of the theoretical model the authors formulate two main hypotheses, concerning the influence of major factors on personal income tax revenues and tax base. The first hypothesis implies that the decrease in marginal income tax rate caused the decrease in personal income tax evasion, increase in tax revenues and tax base. The second hypothesis is that the decrease in tax evasion, especially among taxpayers with high incomes, increased their tax burden and, as a result, the level of vertical equity. The paper also includes the results of empirical tests of the above hypotheses about the change in tax evasion and progressivity using the regional data in 2000 and 2001; a number of measurers in the sphere of economic policy is put forward.