As just noted, taxes on products are treated as a form of income in the SNA. Most economists, however, tend to regard these as taxes on consumption. This category does not exist in the SNA and nor does consumer subsidies. Taxes on financial transactions (such as taxes on issue, purchase, and sale of securities) are treated as taxes on production even though there is often no service involved. It may be appropriate to review the SNA treatment of all taxes and subsidies to ensure that these accord with users’ understanding and need, or if not that the rationale for any differences is made quite explicit and prominent. |