Impact of indirect taxes on income distribution: Analysis of Turkey and some selected countries

One of the reasons for the state's intervention in the economy is income distribution. One of the tools of this is tax policies. Taxes are divided into indirect and direct taxes. Indirect taxes are taxes levied on expenditures. The share of indirect taxes in developing countries, including in our country, is quite high. The aim of the thesis is to examine the effect of indirect taxes on income distribution in the Turkish economy. In the thesis "Does indirect taxes have an impact on income distribution?" the answer to the question has been sought. The ARDL limit test approach was adopted in the study. The purpose of this study is to examine how indirect taxes and direct taxes affect income inequality and economic growth in Turkey in the period 1992-2021 using long-term and short-term forecasting methods. In the literature, the effect of indirect taxes, which is the main subject of the study, on income distribution is generally in the direction that indirect taxes affect income distribution negatively. In the thesis study, it was concluded that indirect taxes negatively affect income distribution. In addition, according to the results of the analysis, the inflation rate increases inequality and reduces growth. Direct taxes reduce inequality and increase growth. Indirect taxes increase inequality and increase growth. Tariffs reduce inequality and reduce growth. VAT reduces inequality and reduces growth. It can be stated that the budget deficit increases inequality and increases growth.