Editing Income tax (section)

===Criticisms===
[[Tax avoidance]] strategies and loopholes tend to emerge within income tax codes. They get created when taxpayers find legal methods to avoid paying taxes. [[Lawmakers]] then attempt to close the loopholes with additional legislation. That leads to a [[vicious cycle]] of ever more complex avoidance strategies and legislation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/why-are-taxes-so-complicated  |title=Why are taxes so complicated? |date=May 2020 |publisher=Tax Policy Center |access-date=August 19, 2013}}</ref> The vicious cycle tends to benefit large corporations and wealthy individuals that can afford the professional fees that come with ever more sophisticated tax planning,<ref>{{cite news |last=Drucker |first=Jesse |date=April 18, 2012 |title=How to Pay No Taxes: 10 Strategies Used by the Rich |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-04-17/how-to-pay-no-taxes-10-strategies-used-by-the-rich |url-access=subscription |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=August 19, 2013}}</ref> thus challenging the notion that even a marginal income tax system can be properly called progressive.

The higher costs to labour and capital imposed by income tax causes [[deadweight loss|dead weight loss]] in an economy, being the loss of economic activity from people deciding not to invest capital or use time productively because of the burden that tax would impose on those activities. There is also a loss from individuals and professional advisors devoting time to tax-avoiding behaviour instead of economically productive activities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deadweight-loss-of-taxation.asp |title=Deadweight Loss Of Taxation |last=Kagan |first=Julia |date=March 15, 2022 |publisher=Investopedia |access-date=August 19, 2013}}</ref>