Gender and Taxation: Analysis of Personal Income Tax (PIT)
Loading...
Date
2009
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC)
Abstract
This paper examines the gender dimensions of personal income tax (PIT) in Uganda with an eye
on the possible gender biases that may be embedded in the tax system. It further addresses the
issue of Uganda’s achievement of substantive gender equality rather than formal equality as
regards the impact of taxes from a gender perspective. This is in line with the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The paper critically
examines Uganda’s tax laws that seem to have formal equality, treating all people as if they are
the same and synonymous with equality of opportunity. Yet, substantive equality recognizes that
people are not the same. Equal treatment may therefore not be equitable. Accordingly, the paper
examines the extent to which Uganda’s tax laws and practices are, through affirmative action,
geared to the achievement of substantive equality or the attainment of equal outcomes. We find
that PIT paid by different household earning types increases gender inequality. We also find that
the income tax system only worsens gender gaps and hardly is a useful tool that could be used to
close the gender gaps. This is mainly because the tax rates are applied equally to both genders
without due consideration of gender inequality and household composition that is rooted in the
country’s social norms and history. Furthermore, we find that more women increasingly fall under
taxable brackets in real terms because of the income tax brackets that are not indexed to
inflation. The paper proposes how PIT could be reformed with a view to using taxation as a tool
for the realization of substantive gender equality.
Description
Keywords
Gender, Taxation, Personal Income Tax (PIT)
Citation
Bategeka, L., Guloba, M., & Kiiza, J. (2009). Gender and taxation: analysis of personal income tax (PIT) (No. 677-2016-46611).