Abstract
The problem of the relationship between the level of taxation and social inequality remains one of the central issues in modern public administration theory. The growth of property stratification in the population in most EU countries, and especially in Ukraine under wartime conditions, underscores the need to rethink fiscal policy instruments from the standpoint of social justice. Based on the analysis of existing approaches to assessing the tax burden, it was established that the heterogeneous structure of the tax mix significantly affects the distribution of income between social groups. It was found that indirect taxes are regressive in nature and increase inequality, while progressive income taxation can act as a tool for smoothing it. Key public administration instruments that allow balancing between fiscal efficiency and social justice were identified. As a result, effective tax policy in the context of public administration should take into account not only fiscal adequacy, but also the distributional impact of various types of taxes. For Ukraine, the priority is to form an adaptive taxation model that can minimize social inequality in the conditions of war and post-war reconstruction.
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