Inflation tax

Inflation tax is a term which refers to the financial loss of value suffered by holders of cash and (if inflation is unexpected) fixed-rate bonds, as well those on fixed income (not indexed to inflation), due to the effects of inflation; or capital gains tax resulting from inflation. This financial loss of value is often expressed as a loss of purchasing power. It may be better characterized as a wealth transfer than a tax - since many people including debtors, holders of hard assets and some equities may simultaneously gain. Many economists hold that inflation affects the lower and middle classes more than the rich, as they hold a larger fraction of their income in cash, they are much less likely to receive the newly created monies before the market has adjusted with inflated prices, more often have fixed incomes, wages or pensions, and lack the means to avoid domestic inflation by reallocating assets overseas. Some argue that inflation is a regressive non-linear consumption tax.