Effective Tax Rates on Consumption and Factor Incomes: a quarterly frequency estimation for Brazil

This paper estimates time series of effective tax rates for consumption and factor incomes for Brazil, following the spirit of Mendoza et al (1994). The procedure to generate quarterly estimates of the tax base, using microdata from populational surveys, and the tax revenues seems to be appropriate, despite its simplicity, as the time series of the tax burden and the effective tax rates are in line with the historical Brazilian experience on fiscal policy. The estimated tax burden identifies a positive trend over time, despite the partial interruption after the international crisis in 2008. The paper also provides preliminary evidence on the properties of the computed effective tax rates and their relation with the business cycles.