Taxing the working poor : the political origins and economic consequences of taxing low wages 1. Introduction 2. A comparative welfare state analysis of tax mixes 3. The economics of taxing labour 4. Political economy applied to tax mixes 5. Empirical evaluation 6. Conclusion : employment and redistribution are not incompatible In most industrialized countries the tax burden of poor people has increased dramatically over the last few decades. This book analyses both the political origins of this increase and its consequences for the labour market