The Recent Trends in Personal Income Taxation in Poland and in the UK

Income taxation raises complex and interesting issues as it may
affect individual's savings, work and attitudes towards risk-taking; it
also affects the distribution of incomes after tax and before tax - all
these questions that are central to the design of tax systems. The
concern about the design of the tax system is the same concern that
underlines the discussion of striking the correct balance between
equity and efficiency, and in particular the problem of minimising
excess burden while achieving a socially desirable redistribution of
income.
In this paper I seek to use economic analysis to examine the
Polish and British personal income tax in the last two decades. I try
to do this by comparing each part of the tax and examine them
using theoretical analysis. In spite of the fact that the personal
income tax structures in Poland and in the UK were constructed
and developed under different economic conditions, the aim of this
paper is to identify some common trends in the personal income
taxation in both countries on the example of the reforms introduced
in the past and some governmental proposals for the future
changes in Poland and in the UK. I also try to answer the question
whether the reforms in the personal income tax in Poland and in
the UK in the past have provided for equity, certainty, convenience
and efficiency.