1.

“The proportional income tax acts as an automatic stabilizer”. Do you agree? Substantiate.

Answer»

Yes, I agree with this statement. The proportional income tax acts as an automatic stabilizer – a shock absorber because it makes disposable income, and thus consumer spending, less sensitive to fluctuations in GDP. When GDP rises, disposable income also rises but by less than the rise in GDP because a part of it is siphoned o as taxes.

This helps limit the upward fluctuation in consumption spending. During a recession when GDP falls, disposable income falls less sharply, and consumption does not drop as much as it otherwise would have fallen had the tax liability been fixed. This reduces the fall in aggregate demand and stabilizes the economy.



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