Taxation Policy Explained: How Governments Raise Revenue
By Allen Krewzz
What Taxation Policy Actually Does
The Three Broad Tax Bases
Progressive, Regressive, and Proportional Structures
How Taxes Shape Behavior
Because taxes change the relative cost of an activity, they influence behavior even when that is not their stated purpose. A tax on a good raises its effective price; a credit for an activity lowers its effective cost.