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Do details matter? An analysis of Italian personal income tax

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  • Martino Tasso

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

Do the details of the structure of the tax code matter? Which of the elementary components of a modern and complex tax code is most important for households? This paper explores these issues within the framework of an overlapping generation model with heterogeneous agents and with specific reference to the case of Italy. Risk averse agents in the model are exposed to lifespan uncertainty, borrowing constraints, and uninsurable wage shocks. In this framework, the tax code plays an important role as a source of publicly-provided insurance against unlucky realizations of incomes. In particular, while many features of the tax code are instrumental in shaping its ability to redistribute income across agents, this paper finds that a new-born agent would attach a significant welfare value to the existing tax credit for employees’ earned income. This provision of Italian personal income tax significantly lowers the tax burdens on agents hit by negative productivity shocks and thus plays a crucial role in limiting the dispersion of realized net incomes and consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Martino Tasso, 2020. "Do details matter? An analysis of Italian personal income tax," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1301, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1301_20
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    personal income tax; overlapping generations;

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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