Professor Alan Barrett:

In many ways, I should be careful here. I think I can claim ESRI research on this, as we are the ones who do the analysis of the redistributive component. The OECD did the study, but using the ESRI SWITCH model. It is the case that our tax and welfare system combined are highly redistributive. There is an additional point though, that one should not confuse that with the totality of the tax system. For example, we know that indirect taxes are actually quite regressive. To get a total sense one would have to factor that in, but on the narrow income tax system, it is among the most redistributive.