bracket creep

American  

noun

1. the gradual movement of a wage earner into a higher federal income-tax bracket as a result of wage increases intended to help offset inflation.

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Example Sentences

What she didn’t tell you is that the state is automatically raising income taxes every year through inflation bracket creep.

From The Wall Street Journal

If inflation spikes later in the year, as it did in 2021, bracket creep is more likely.

From Seattle Times

To avoid bracket creep, the government began adjusting, or indexing, tax brackets for inflation in the early 1980s, after a long period of raging inflation.

From New York Times

When Reagan entered office, stagflation was undercutting the credibility of economic technocrats and breeding tax revolts through “bracket creep.”

From Washington Post

As a single tax filer myself, I noticed that unmarried taxpayers may actually suffer "bracket creep" that may translate into a higher tax liability in 2018.

From Salon