people will no longer support open trade and free markets if they feel that they are losing out while a small group of winners is getting richer and richer large and persistent losses in lowincome groups following recessions underline the importance of welltargeted incomesupport policies government transfers both in cash and inkind have an important role to play in guaranteeing that lowincome households do not fall further back in the income distribution it may be necessary to review whether existing tax provisions are still optimal in light of equity considerations and current revenue requirements