Integración de impuestos y prestaciones : una vía innovadora para la reforma de la protección social

The separation and even disconnection between social benefits and the tax system generates a lack of consistency between these systems' respective aims and impacts. In recent times, the work of a number of scholars in social and tax policy, as well as some public policies adopted by different countries in the European Union, have opened the way for substantial advances in tax-benefit integration. This article presents the basic rationale behind tax-benefit integration, and discusses its pros and cons in the present context of economic crisis and retrenchment of public budgets.