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The fiscal and equity impact of social tax expenditures in the EU

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  • Figari, Francesco
  • Riscado, Sara
  • Barrios, Salvador
  • Coda Moscarola, Flavia
  • Gandullia, Luca

Abstract

Tax expenditures are preferential tax treatments granted to specific individuals or categories of households which aim at achieving social and economic goals. They are widely used by EU Member States. However, their fiscal and equity impacts are not always clear and their effectiveness and efficiency as a policy instrument need to be carefully evaluated, especially in the present context of constrained public finances. This paper quantifies the fiscal and equity effects of social tax expenditures related to housing, education and health in 27 European countries making use of EUROMOD, the EU-wide microsimulation model. We find a variety of effects, in terms of sign and magnitude, across Member States, and within these, among types of households. Overall our findings suggest that the impact of tax expenditure on tax revenues and on income inequalities can be sizeable. The redistributive impact of removing tax expenditures can go both directions, either on the progressive or regressive side, depending on the country and the tax expenditure considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Figari, Francesco & Riscado, Sara & Barrios, Salvador & Coda Moscarola, Flavia & Gandullia, Luca, 2019. "The fiscal and equity impact of social tax expenditures in the EU," EUROMOD Working Papers EM20/19, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:ese:emodwp:em20-19
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    1. Cinzia Di Novi & Anna Marenzi & Dino Rizzi, 2018. "Do healthcare tax credits help poor-health individuals on low incomes?," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 19(2), pages 293-307, March.
    2. Leonard E. Burman & Christopher Geissler & Eric J. Toder, 2008. "How Big Are Total Individual Income Tax Expenditures, and Who Benefits from Them?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 79-83, May.
    3. Willem Adema & Pauline Fron & Maxime Ladaique, 2014. "How much do OECD countries spend on social protection and how redistributive are their tax/benefit systems?," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 67(1), pages 1-25, January.
    4. Miche l L. Collins & Mary Walsh, 2011. "Tax Expenditures: Revenue and Information Forgone - the experience of Ireland," Trinity Economics Papers tep1211, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Marion del Sol & Pascale Turquet, 2021. "L’assurance maladie complémentaire des salariés au prisme du fiscal welfare… what’s going wrong in France ?," Post-Print hal-03411441, HAL.
    3. Maria O. Kakaulina & Nikita A. Kazansky, 2023. "The impact of tax expenditures on economic growth: The US experience," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 41-63, January.

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