ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the main changes in government spending and revenue during this century. The classical concept of incidence deals with the problem of trying to sort out who really pays a particular tax, and what are the effects of a tax change. The evidence is overwhelming that our system of taxes and benefits, in spite of a considerable amount of effort, is neither equitable, nor is it succeeding very well in achieving its declared object of relieving poverty. The accretion principle has been used as a yardstick. A criterion for equity could be set up in terms of effective income. The wage stop is a rule that ensures an unemployed man does not receive greater social security benefits when he is out of work than he would receive as a wage when he is working. The provision of benefits which have been referred to results in an enormous amount of duplication of government administration.
