Progressive Taxation of Individual Income in Islamic Countries

Abstract

The economic results of the development of Muslim countries have raised the question of the existence of an increasingly focused Islamic financial and tax model. Taxes in the Islamic economic model provide an implicit link in the relations between the state and individuals, thus determining the limits of conditioned freedom and mutual obligations. The article is aimed at identifying the indicative features of progressive taxation of individual income in some Islamic countries. The research results show that Islamic countries are characterized by the unity of religion (faith) and such elements of the social system as the organization of power, as well as family, economic and other relations. The boundaries of the personal and the public, the individual and the national are transparent and strictly regulated. The peculiarities of the Tax Institute in Muslim countries, terms of taxation and tax usage rules are considered. It is proven that nowadays approaches to taxation in Islamic countries are diverse. It is determined that progressive taxation of individual income is widely used in Turkey, Pakistan, Tunisia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and other countries, and partly in Saudi Arabia; "tax heavens" are typical for the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Omani; proportional taxation is still used in Malaysia, Sudan, and Kazakhstan. The main types of taxes in Muslim countries are analyzed, their evolution is studied. Modern foci of progressive taxation of individual incomes in specific Muslim countries are revealed. The advantages of the Islamic financial model in terms of tax policy modernization and compliance with tax discipline, unconditional fulfillment of obligations and concluded agreements are identified. It is substantiated that using some elements of the progressive tax scale applied in the practice of Islamic finance can prove useful in a number of areas, providing budgetary and social balance in the "corridor of opportunities", bringing mutual responsibility of citizens and the state in fulfilling obligations, creating an annuity and mutually beneficial economic behavior pattern. It is proved that the progressive tax withdrawal of a part of large incomes will give a restrictive and restraining result of control over their redistribution in the public interest, as the socio-economic behavior of individuals, their powers and responsibilities must be balanced.

Keywords

• economic development
• economic model
• individual incomes
• islamic countries
• islamic financial model progressive taxation
• taxes
• tax rate