In many countries around the world, the majority of the population - and a majority of women - are poor, and adequate financing of public services is a pressing issue. Since taxes are governments’ principal own-source revenues, tax policy is at the heart of the public debate on what services government should provide and who should pay for them, including the share paid by women and men as consumers, workers, and employers.
This paper is intended to provide information to assist in the analysis of potential gender bias in tax systems and the design of gender-sensitive revenue measures.
It provides an overview of issues of taxation in developed and developing countries, outlines some basic concepts of tax, reviews the gender dimensions of specific types of taxes, and concludes with recommendations to improve gender equity in tax policy and suggests areas for future research.