Inequality in income after taxes and transfers, as measured by the Gini index, was about 25% lower than for income before taxes and transfers on average in the OECD area in the late 2000s. For the same period, poverty measured after taxes and transfers was 55% lower than before taxes and transfers for the OECD average. The authors would like to thank Peter Hoeller who co-ordinated the project, and also Bert Brys, Oliver Denk, Romain Duval, J0rgen Elmeskov, Michael Forster, Kaja Fredriksen, Isabell Koske, Stephen Matthews and Jean-Luc Schneider for their useful comments and suggestions and Susan Gascard for excellent editorial support.