The paper analyzes the income tax in the tax system of the Republic of Croatia. Income tax is a specific type of tax that has certain characteristics, among which the personality, directness and complexity of this tax stand out. It is also a specific tax that taxes the total income of the taxpayer, i.e. a natural person who earns income in the tax period. The paper analyzes the changes in the Croatian income tax system through different historical periods. The analysis showed that the income tax system changed frequently and significantly. Tax rates, tax classes, methods of determining the base, sources of income, i.e. the subject of taxation, etc. were frequently changed. The changes were made in such a way that over time the fiscal significance of income tax in the tax system of the Republic of Croatia decreased. This significance is very low compared to other members of the European Union, however, income tax is still the third most generous tax in the Croatian tax system. Only value added tax and special taxes and excise duties are of greater importance. Nevertheless, this shows that the Croatian tax system is oriented towards consumption rather than income principle, which in turn has both advantages and disadvantages. It was also determined that in the beginnings of the income tax system, a synthetic model was applied, but with time and the introduction of numerous analytical provisions, that model became analytical. This results in the relative complexity of the Croatian income tax system, but at the same time reduces the risk of phenomena such as tax evasion. Orientation towards consumption should result in encouraging employment, investments, entrepreneurship and savings, but at the same time it is necessary to take care that the high tax burden on consumption does not damage the standard of citizens and the behavior of business entities.