ABSTRACT How does immigration affect support for redistribution? While most research focuses on overall tax and spending levels, we investigate how immigration influences preferences conditional on tax structures. Using two original survey experiments in the UK, we find that low- and middle-income respondents are more likely to support redistribution to immigrants under progressive systems shielding them from fiscal costs, but oppose redistribution when immigrants are identified as beneficiaries and the tax structure increases their fiscal burden. In contrast, high-income respondents' preferences are largely unaffected by either tax structure or immigrant inclusion. These findings suggest that progressive taxation (1) is a viable revenue-generating strategy without provoking major political backlash; (2) reduces native resistance to immigrant welfare inclusion; (3) helps explain puzzling variation in immigration's effects on welfare attitudes; and (4) clarifies why low- and middle-income groups sometimes reject generous welfare programs despite standing to benefit. Our results highlight the importance of institutional design in shaping how economic self-interest and immigration concerns interact.

ABSTRACT This study analyses the relationship between political regimes and income inequality in South Africa over the period 1965 to 2019, with particular emphasis on the apartheid era and the democratic period. Employing Bayesian vector autoregression and Bayesian Generalized Method of Moments techniques, the study accounts for dense parameterisation, heterogeneity, and complex institutional dynamics affecting income distribution. The findings indicate that South Africa continues to experience persistent income inequality rooted in deeply entrenched racialised socio-economic structures, despite the transition to democracy. Political regimes are shown to shape income outcomes through institutional design, governance quality, and policy orientation. The study argues that addressing inequality requires a comprehensive and coordinated policy framework centred on strengthening democratic institutions, accountability mechanisms, and leadership transparency. Redistributive and desegregation strategies, including land redistribution, remain critical for correcting historical injustices and enabling inclusive economic participation. Complementary interventions such as skills development, education investment, progressive taxation, entrepreneurship support in marginalised regions, economic diversification, and the removal of structural barriers to social mobility are essential to promote inclusive growth, employment creation, and long-term socio-economic equity.

ABSTRACT In this paper, we develop a game-theoretical model to examine the impacts of the progressive carbon tax on carbon emission reduction (CER), a specific form of green innovation, in a remanufacturing system involving an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and a third-party remanufacturer (TPR). The analysis yields several important insights. First, progressive carbon taxes function as a cost barrier. They strengthen the OEM’s incentive to invest in CER, particularly when higher tax brackets interact with relatively low CER costs, thus altering the marginal trade-offs faced by the OEM. Second, under decentralization, a profit polarization effect emerges. The OEM captures tax-saving gains from tax-tier transitions and lowers prices aggressively. This strategy reduces the TPR’s market share and weakens its profitability. Furthermore, the study uncovers a distinct emission rebound paradox under centralization. When tax tiers are excessively high, firms may expand production instead of deepening emission reduction. Third, a Profit-and-Cost Sharing (PCS) contract is proposed to realign incentives within the supply chain, mitigate the imbalance of CER efforts between the OEM and the TPR, and enable decentralized decision-making to replicate centralized performance. This study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it formally characterizes OEM—TPR strategic interactions under a progressive carbon tax regime. Second, it reveals the non-monotonic propagation of green innovation-driven CER upgrades across pricing, recovery decisions, and total emissions. Third, it proposes a coordination mechanism that improves both environmental and economic performance in remanufacturing supply chains.

Reforming labor income tax progressivity during demographic transition: Welfare effects in Korea

Bang Kachao Subdistrict faces a policy conflict between the 2019 conservation zoning regulation, which mandates at least 25% green cover, and the Land and Buildings Tax Act in 2019, which progressively increases idle land tax rates from 0.5% to 3% within three years. The rising tax burden has accelerated land conversion from vacant and forested plots to monoculture farms, threatening local ecosystem integrity. Using high-resolution drone imagery and high-resolution satellite imagery obtained from Google Earth Pro for the year 2005 and 2015, six land-use classes were mapped and projected to 2045. The model achieved an overall accuracy of 89.7% (Kappa = 0.86), forecasting a 14.1% decline in forest area (-0.144 km²), 15.9% agricultural net increase (+0.185 km²), and an increase in idle land from 0.031 km² to 0.094 km² over the 40-year period. Field surveys confirmed that landowners replaced nipa palm wetlands with eucalyptus plantations to qualify for tax exemptions. These results indicate that progressive taxation can undermine conservation policies. It is recommended that subdistrict governors establish Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with landowners to support nipa palm and native forest restoration through capped tax rates and integrated land-use zoning.

The Union Budget of India serves as a financial blueprint for the upcoming financial year. It effectively balances economic reform, equity, and innovation. These are necessary for sustainable and inclusive development in a post-liberalisation context. This paper examines the Union Budget's evolution from a pre-1991 accounting tool that emphasised public-sector-led equity to a key lever driving market-oriented reforms. This study does its analysis on post-1991 budgets based on three theories. These are Keynesian fiscal principles, Sen's capability approach, and Schumpeterian innovation theory. There is also a detailed focus on 2019-2026 budgeting changes. Economic reforms feature fiscal consolidation, i.e., a deficit targeted at 4.3% of GDP in 2026–27, tax rationalisation, and surging capital expenditure. These reforms aim to boost infrastructure and competitiveness. Equity initiatives include progressive taxation, expanded social welfare, schemes like MGNREGA and direct benefit transfers. Even with these, we see gaps that are revealed through persistent inequality, like the Gini trends and income disparities. Innovation promotion includes R&D incentives, Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, and frontier investments. The study highlights how everything works together, like innovation-led productivity aimed at reducing poverty and trade-offs like severe constraining welfare during fiscal pressures, political cycles favouring short-term equity, and external shocks limiting space. We see similar situations globally. It includes countries like Brazil, China, and South Africa. The similarities show the problems in emerging economies. The paper proves that recent budgets show the result of good progress in economic condition inter alia adaptive strategies, outcome-based frameworks, public-private partnerships, and AI use in fiscal planning. They aid with the tensions and work with Viksit Bharat goals.

This article investigates optimal lifetime consumption, investment, and life insurance decisions in a continuous framework. We incorporate a progressive estate tax and a tax-exempt life insurance market, which leads to the nondifferentiability of the utility function for bequest at the n-th tax tier threshold. Progressive estate taxation together with a tax-exempt life insurance market introduces nonlinearity in the relationship between wealth and life insurance proceeds, thereby rendering the elegant martingale and duality methods inapplicable. Consequently, we employ the Legendre transform to derive explicit expressions for the optimal strategies. Our analysis reveals that the estate tax reduces the incentive to save while increasing the demand for life insurance, as life insurance serves as an alternative to direct inheritance for intergenerational wealth transfer. Most notably, the estate tax exerts a dual effect on consumption and investment, driven by both substitution and income effects. Specifically, the estate tax stimulates consumption and reduces investment for agents with high elasticity of intertemporal substitution (EIS), whereas it suppresses consumption and incentivizes investment for those with low EIS.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is traditionally viewed as one of the key drivers of economic growth in developing countries. It provides additional capital inflows, access to modern technologies and management practices, and facilitates the integration of the national economy into the global economy. At the same time, the experience of many countries demonstrates the contradictory nature of this impact. Positive effects are often accompanied by negative structural deformations, including increased sectoral disproportions, monopolization of domestic markets, environmental risks, and threats to the economic and political independence of the host country. The article proposes the author’s classification of foreign direct investments based on four key parameters: the form of capital investment, the stage and sector of production (horizontal and vertical investments), market orientation (domestic or export-oriented), and the relative scale of investment projects. This approach enables a systematic identification and forecasting of both positive and negative socio-economic effects depending on the type of investment. Particular attention is paid to the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs), which possess competitive advantages due to access to advanced technologies and lower labor costs compared to local producers. Based on the conducted analysis, a set of recommendations has been developed to minimize the negative impacts of FDI. These include the introduction of a progressive taxation system to reduce income differentiation, strengthening antitrust regulation and local content requirements to prevent market monopolization, stimulating the development of national supply chains to mitigate sectoral imbalances, improving environmental standards and mechanisms of TNC accountability, as well as implementing screening procedures for investments in strategic sectors of the economy to protect national interests. Special attention in the study is given to the situation in Ukraine. In the context of full-scale war and subsequent post-war recovery, the issue of attracting foreign investment acquires strategic importance. The main factors restraining investment activity in Ukraine (war risks, legislative instability, corruption, and worn-out infrastructure) are analyzed, and practical recommendations for forming an effective state investment policy are proposed. The need for a differentiated approach is emphasized: priority attraction of investments into high-tech, processing, and “green” sectors, development of public-private partnerships, and enhanced control over large-scale projects. The results of the study may be useful for government bodies, analytical centers, and researchers dealing with investment policy, structural transformations of the economy, and ensuring sustainable development of developing countries.

Subject. The process of transforming personal income taxation at the current stage of development of the Russian tax system. Objectives. To identify the prerequisites that triggered the need for a fundamental revision of personal income tax (PIT) calculation rules — which had not previously been considered problematic; to determine the directions along which the process of their modification proceeded and the economic reasons behind these choices; and to assess the fiscal effect of the decisions adopted over the period 2021–2024. Methods. The study employed general scientific research methods, as well as methods of statistical data processing. Results. It has been proven that the transition to a progressive tax scale, the revision of taxation rules for interest income on bank deposits, and the abolition of bond-related tax preferences constitute interconnected systemic decisions. These measures are firmly embedded in the economic context and represent a continuation of the tax policy course aimed at centralizing tax revenues. Conclusions. The revision of the foundations of personal income taxation in Russia is driven by the need to stabilize public finances under conditions of a federal budget deficit and to balance its revenue side with rising expenditures – without harming regional budgets. The measures adopted have demonstrated high budgetary efficiency.

A characteristic feature of the period from 2014 to the present has been a consistent deterioration of the external conditions for Russia’s socioeconomic development due to anti-Russian sanctions imposed by unfriendly states, as well as declining global economic stability. Under these conditions, the role of the federal budget and fiscal policy as factors in the country’s socioeconomic development is increasing. This article provides a compre­hensive analysis of the evolution of Russia’s fiscal policy during the period of structural transformations caused by successive waves of international sanctions (since 2014), the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emergence of a new geopolitical reality. The objective of the study is to identify and systematize the key trends in the transformation of Russia’s fiscal policy from 2014 to 2027, assess its effectiveness as a tool for adapting to external challenges, and formulate promising areas for development. The study covers the period from 2014 to 2027 and identifies key adaptation mechanisms and strategic priorities. The methodo­logical framework is based on a comparative analysis, generalization, and formalization of data on federal budget execution and the dynamics of macroeconomic indicators. The theo­retical and methodological foundation of the study is formed by the works of domestic and international researchers on the socioeconomic development of the state and the role of the state budget. The results indicate a paradigm shift in fiscal policy: from a policy of stabiliza­tion and reserve accumulation in response to the shocks of 2014–2016 to a policy of active­ly stimulating structural restructuring of the economy and technological sovereignty after 2022. Key trends have been identified: a shift in focus to non-resource revenues, outpacing growth in defense and social spending, the introduction of progressive taxation elements, and an expanded horizon for strategic budget planning. The article assesses the risks asso­ciated with persistently high inflation and growing debt burden and formulates recommen­dations for increasing the flexibility and effectiveness of fiscal policy in an environment of permanent uncertainty.

Positional consumption is spending valued mainly for relative standing rather than intrinsic usefulness. A progressive consumption tax can, in principle, reduce the social costs of status-driven spending by taxing consumption rather than saving, but it may face resistance. We examine a behavioral evaluation channel in which status quo bias and loss aversion can sustain positional consumption and reduce support for this reform. We combine a fully specified, reproducible in silico simulation of tax acceptance with a real-participant gain–loss questionnaire that benchmarks positional-choice patterns under matched items. In grouped fractional-response estimates from the simulated data, the post-condition increases predicted acceptance from about 0.11 to about 0.22 and is statistically significant (p < 0.001), while higher status quo and loss-aversion proxy intensity predicts lower acceptance and is statistically significant (p < 0.001). Policy framing increases predicted acceptance relative to the Neutral frame. In the questionnaire, loss framing shifts choices toward absolute outcomes relative to gain framing, consistent with attenuated positional motives. The framework provides a transparent way to stress test how framing and bundled communication and comprehension supports can shift acceptance of progressive consumption taxation under stated assumptions.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused social and economic disparities in addition to a health crisis. Rising poverty levels, decreased purchasing power, and limitations on socio-economic mobility are some examples of these impacts. Public economic policy is an important tool for the government to restore social balance through resource distribution and the strengthening of fiscal policies. The aim of this study is to examine how effective post-pandemic public economic policies are and to develop optimization methods that can evenly improve societal welfare. The method used in this article is a qualitative approach focused on literature research, national statistical data, and scientific journals. The analysis results indicate that policies such as social assistance programs, incentives for small businesses, and increased public spending have improved economic stability, but they have not been fully effective in addressing structural inequality. Therefore, policy optimization should focus on implementing progressive taxes, improving public spending efficiency, and enhancing transparency and accountability in the fiscal system. It is hoped that this optimization can strengthen socio-economic resilience and generate inclusive and sustainable growth.

This study aims to examine the effect of progressive tax and digitalization on motor vehicle taxpayer compliance in Bangkinang. This research employs a quantitative approach. The population of the study consists of 442,941 motor vehicle taxpayers registered at the Samsat Office of Bangkinang. The sample size was determined using the Slovin formula, resulting in 100 respondents. The data used in this study consist of primary data obtained through questionnaires distributed to motor vehicle taxpayers in Bangkinang and secondary data derived from books and academic journals. Data collection was conducted using a questionnaire technique. The research variables include taxpayer compliance as the dependent variable, and progressive tax and digitalization as independent variables. Data analysis was performed using multiple linear regression analysis with the assistance of SPSS version 26. The results indicate that progressive tax has no significant effect on taxpayer compliance, while digitalization has a positive and significant effect on motor vehicle taxpayer compliance. The coefficient of determination (R Square) is 0.339, indicating that progressive tax and digitalization simultaneously contribute 33.9% to taxpayer compliance, while the remaining 66.1% is influenced by other factors not examined in this study.

Fiscal sustainability remains a cornerstone of structural reform for transitional economies in the Western Balkans. This study evaluates the impact of direct and indirect taxation on the economic growth of North Macedonia using quarterly data from 2010Q1 to 2023Q4. Employing a Vector Autoregression (VAR) framework and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, the research identifies the distinct economic outcomes associated with varying tax structures. The findings reveal that while both direct and indirect taxes influence growth, North Macedonia’s path to sustainable social and economic development is increasingly dependent on the transition toward progressive direct taxation. The comparative analysis with neighbouring Western Balkan states highlights North Macedonia's unique fiscal position and provides a roadmap for policy reforms aimed at reducing income inequality while maintaining financial resilience. This study offers critical evidence for policymakers tasked with modernizing fiscal architectures in emerging markets.Copyright© 2026 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Article’s history: Received 30th of November, 2025; Revised 7th of January, 2026; Accepted 12th of February, 2026; Available online: 15th of March, 2026. Published as article in the Volume XXI, Special Issue 1(91), 2026.

ABSTRACT Attitudes toward redistribution have been widely studied, yet individuals respond differently to specific policies. Progressive taxation is one of the most effective mechanisms for reducing inequality and fostering more egalitarian societies, but little is known about the psychological factors shaping support for it. People's attitudes toward progressive taxation are influenced by how they perceive the distribution of resources (perceived economic inequality) and the possibility of movement between different socio‐economic strata (social mobility). To analyse both processes, we conducted two exploratory cross‐sectional studies. Study 1 analysed a representative sample from 29 countries ( N = 44,975), and Study 2 examined a stratified Spanish sample ( N = 1536). Higher perceived inequality was associated with stronger support for progressive taxation (i.e., higher taxes on the wealthy). However, this relationship weakened when upward mobility was perceived as likely, suggesting that mobility beliefs can temper the influence of inequality on support for redistributive policies.

ABSTRACT To understand the lack of support for more progressive taxation in high-inequality contexts, we conducted interviews with 14 top-level politicians and civil servants in Mexico about their perceptions of inequality, their redistributive preferences, and the interconnection between the two. Participants come from all three levels of government and hold positions linked to tax policy. We find that they perceive inequality as high and undesirable but conflate it with poverty. They fail to link inequality reduction to taxation, focusing instead on improving public spending. Additionally, they propose solutions to inequality such as encouraging entrepreneurship, and adjusting the distribution of resources among different government levels. Most do not themselves use public services like education or health care and have ties to the business sector. Although they are part of the government, they do not trust it to use revenue appropriately. These perceptions stand in the way of progressive tax reform in Mexico and similar countries.

Family settlement deeds in India are in a grey area between partition and transfer. Having an origin in equitable principles and being acknowledged for maintaining family harmony and preventing litigation, they have mostly remained out of the reach of capital gains tax. The rationale has been that such settlements do not generate new property rights but crystallise pre-existing antecedent rights. However, the lack of a statutory definition and the wider ambit of "transfer" under the Income Tax Act, 1961 makes this position hard to maintain. Consequently, settlements emerge as both instruments of dispute settlement and possible means of tax evasion. In practice, revenue authorities and courts have dealt with bona fide family settlements as transfers of pre-existing rights and not as disposing transactions giving rise to taxation. Registration requirements protect third parties and equity underlies enforceability among family members. In parallel, the scope of tax provisions, encompassing sales, exchanges, relinquishments and transactions that make possible the enjoyment of property, leaves room for treating specified settlements as taxable transfers. This conflict finds most vivid expression in cases involving disproportionate economic benefits, step transactions or arrangements made chiefly to obtain tax benefit. The task is to find a balance between maintaining the social benefit of family settlements and safeguarding revenue interests. Other jurisdictions like the United Kingdom take a more subtle approach by taxing transfers into trust but exempting proportionate or low value arrangements, thereby incorporating principles of progressive taxation. This essay contends that India would benefit from a similar calibrated structure. A restricted safe harbour may be provided for well documented, registered and proportionate settlements that are free of tax avoidance indicators. Settlements outside such parameters must be taxed, acknowledging that they amount to substantive economic transfers. This reform would preserve family harmony where genuinely sought while also promoting equity, limiting abuse and arresting erosion of the tax base.

ABSTRACT How do citizens assess whether the state or territory in which they live receives its ‘fair share’ of federal resources? We develop a theory of dual positional logic, which holds that perceptions of fiscal fairness emerge from the intersection of individual income and territorial context. Citizens experience redistribution both as individuals – through progressive taxation and transfers – and as residents of advantaged or disadvantaged places. Alignment of these positions reinforces judgments of fairness, while divergence creates cross-pressures. We test this by using a nationally representative survey module fielded in August 2023 in Australia, a federation marked by high vertical fiscal imbalance and an institutionalised system of horizontal equalisation. Results from multinomial logit models reveal a clear conditional pattern: low-income respondents in disadvantaged areas are most likely to perceive unfair treatment, with this likelihood declining sharply as local conditions improve; by contrast, high-income respondents are especially likely to perceive unfairness in affluent areas. These findings advance debates on fiscal federalism by demonstrating how individual income and place-based context jointly shape citizens attitudes toward intergovernmental redistribution.

The sustainable transformation of electronics supply chains (ESCs) increasingly relies on effective green supply chain planning under carbon pricing and demand uncertainty. However, prior studies often lack an integrated framework that jointly considers carbon taxation, green technology investment, and profitability—environment trade-offs in forward and reverse supply chains. To address this gap, this study proposes a fuzzy multi-goal optimization model using linear goal programming under progressive carbon taxation. The model incorporates fuzzy demand (triangular fuzzy numbers), carbon emissions, carbon taxes, and green investment costs and is converted into a solvable linear form via a defuzzification-based procedure to simultaneously achieve multiple aspiration levels for economic and environmental objectives. A real-world ESC case validates the model. The results show that carbon taxation and green investments can reduce emissions while maintaining profitability, with total cost and emission sensitivity of ±10–20% across different policies and demand uncertainty settings. The findings support adaptive, policy-aware planning by guiding green investment intensity and forward–reverse logistics decisions to balance cost efficiency and emissions reduction and provide actionable insights for managers facing progressive carbon pricing regulations.

This article analyzes the compliance of fiscal reforms implemented within the framework of the “Uzbekistan – 2030” strategy with the principles of inclusiveness. The study examines the role of tax policy in ensuring a balance between economic efficiency and social justice based on James Mirrlees’ optimal taxation theory and contemporary empirical data. The article evaluates the macroeconomic impact of changes in the 2025 Tax Code, particularly the progressive social tax rates and mechanisms for legalizing the shadow economy. The results indicate that Uzbekistan’s tax system, while maintaining fiscal stability, is transitioning toward an inclusive model aimed at developing human capital and mitigating income inequality