Tax Policy and the Happiness Index

Authors

  • Iwona Wojciechowska-Toruńska Politechnika Łódzka, Instytut Nauk Społecznych i Zarządzania Technologiami

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15678/ZNUEK.2014.0932.0811

Keywords:

tax policy, indicators of socio-economic development, the economics of happiness, public finance

Abstract

The article addresses the relationship between taxation and satisfaction with life. What is known as a happiness index was constructed to perform an approximate analysis of the level of life satisfaction in countries with different tax policies. The hypothesis, which states, ‘Countries with a high happiness index need not have high average tax rates but should be identifiable by their progressive income tax, increased diversification of VAT rates and stable level of public expenditure as a proportion of GDP’ was verified positively. The search for the optimal tax policy should take into account not only economic growth but also the growth rate of social satisfaction and the level of social welfare.

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Published

24-11-2015

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Articles

How to Cite

Wojciechowska-Toruńska, I. (2015). Tax Policy and the Happiness Index. Krakow Review of Economics and Management Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego W Krakowie, 8(932), 153-164. https://doi.org/10.15678/ZNUEK.2014.0932.0811