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esources from women to others in the economy.If women did not provide this service, institutions—such as the state—would need to step in to preventthe care economy from collapsing.When services are provided through state or marketinstitutions—for example, school places or healthcare—individuals may be charged user fees. AsChapter 3 has shown, user fees at the point ofservice delivery can be particularly burdensome forwomen. Private insurance schemes allow peopleto pay in advance in order to access services whenthey need them, but such schemes are rarelyaffordable for low-income households. Public socialinsurance can be more redistributive because itpools risks and resources, including state subsidiesfor low-income households. 61Finally, social services may be funded entirely out ofgeneral government revenues that are generatedthrough indirect taxes, such as VAT, or direct taxes,such as an income tax. Funding social services outof general government revenues tends to create thegreatest scope for redistribution and substantiveequality, but even here some taxes are moreprogressive than others. For example, indirect taxessuch as VAT can be regressive, depending on theirdesign, because low-income households spendmore of their income on basic consumption goodsthan higher-income households.In addition, some tax policies contain explicitgender biases, treating women and men differently.In some tax systems, for example, men areautomatically granted deductions for dependentswhereas women are only allowed these in specialcircumstances. 62More often unequal treatment is implicit, whenseemingly gender-neutral provisions have differenteffects on women and men due to structuralsources of gender inequality. For example, workrelatedtax exemptions may disproportionally goto men, who are more likely than women to be inFigure 4.5Types of revenue, their regressivity and their impact on social relationsDirect taxes are the most progressive and encourage the greatest social solidarityRegressivityTime burden tax (self-provision)User fees (most regressive, least solidaristic)Private insurance schemes (pre-paid schemes)Public insurance schemesIndirect taxesEarmarked taxesDirect taxes (most progressive, most solidaristic)SolidaritySource: Based on Delamonica and Mehrotra 2009.207