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Pension fund taxation and risk-taking: should we switch from the EET to the TEE regime?

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  • Katarzyna Romaniuk

Abstract

Most countries tax retirement savings according to the EET (exempt contributions, exempt accumulations, taxable withdrawals) regime. Relevant literature recommends the use of TEE (taxable contributions, exempt accumulations, exempt withdrawals) or EET systems and emphasizes their near equivalence. We show that this near equivalence breaks down when considering the tax effects on risk-taking. This paper proves that the TEE regime is risk-taking neutral, while the EET regime does not, in general, respect this property. The argument of risk-taking neutrality thus calls for broadening the use of the TEE configuration. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2013

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  • Katarzyna Romaniuk, 2013. "Pension fund taxation and risk-taking: should we switch from the EET to the TEE regime?," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 573-588, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:annfin:v:9:y:2013:i:4:p:573-588
    DOI: 10.1007/s10436-012-0204-3
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    Cited by:

    1. CREMER, Helmuth & PESTIEAU, Pierre, 2016. "Taxing Pensions," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2016006, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    2. Armstrong, Angus & Davis, Philip & Ebell, Monique, 2015. "An economic analysis of pension tax proposals," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86276, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Salvador Barrios & Flavia Coda Moscarola & Francesco Figari & Luca Gandullia, 2020. "Size and distributional pattern of pension-related tax expenditures in European countries," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(5), pages 1287-1320, October.
    4. Emmanouil Platanakis & Charles Sutcliffe, 2017. "Pension Schemes, Taxation and Stakeholder Wealth: The USS Rule Changes," ICMA Centre Discussion Papers in Finance icma-dp2017-08, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    5. Mattia Landoni & Stephen P. Zeldes, 2020. "Should the Government be Paying Investment Fees on $3 Trillion of Tax-Deferred Retirement Assets?," NBER Working Papers 26700, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Chen, Damiaan H. J. & Beetsma, Roel M. W. J. & Ponds, Eduard H. M. & Romp, Ward E., 2016. "Intergenerational risk-sharing through funded pensions and public debt," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 127-159, April.
    7. Robert Holzmann, 2016. "Taxing Pensions of an Internationally Mobile Labor Force: Portability Issues and Taxation Options," CESifo Working Paper Series 5715, CESifo.
    8. Jorge Miguel Bravo, 2016. "Taxation of Pensions in Portugal: Is there a Rationale for a Semi-Dual Income Tax System?," CESifo Working Paper Series 5981, CESifo.
    9. Monique Ebell & Angus Armstrong & Philip Davis, 2015. "An economic analysis of the existing taxation of pensions (EET) versus an alternative regime (TEE)," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 455, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax; EET regime; TEE regime; Pension funds; Defined contribution; Defined benefit; Risk-taking; C61; G11; G23; G28; H22; H39;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • H39 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Other

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