Fiscal reform though the lens of social equity

Abstract

Inequality is on the rise both globally and nationally. In the Republic of Moldova, the assets of a few thousand millionaires’ amount to tens of billions of lei, while about a million citizens are placed in the category of absolute poverty or severe poverty. Globally, voices are being heard more and more that propose the tightening of the tax system, which is already designed based on the principle of progressiveness in the payment of taxes in order to raise the level of taxation of the richest with the aim of reducing the level of inequality and achieving the principle of equity. In our country, things are practically the opposite. Four years ago, tax reform was carried out with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the tax system and which involved moving from the progressive principle of taxation to a single tax rate for all taxpayers. In this article, the results of this reform were analyzed only through the lens of social equity but not efficiency. CZU: 336.221.24:330.564(478). JEL: H 24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53486/icspm2023.35