Progressive Tax-like Effects of Inflation: Fact or Myth? The U.S. Post-war Experience
Matthias Wieschemeyer, Bernd Süssmuth
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 33,
2017
Abstract
Inflation and earnings growth can push some tax payers into higher brackets in the absence of inflation-indexed schedules. Moreover, inflation may affect the composition of individuals’ income sources. As a result, depending on the relative tax burden of labour and capital, inflation may decrease or increase the difference between before-tax and after-tax income. However, whether some and if so which percentiles of the income distribution net benefit from inflation via taxation is a widely unexplored question. We make use of a novel dataset on U.S. pre-tax and post-tax income distribution series provided by Pike ty et al. (2018) for the years 1962 to 2014 to answer this question. To this end, we estimate local projections to quantify dynamic effects. We find that inflation shocks increase progressivity of taxation not only contemporaneously but also with some repercussion of several years after the shock. While particularly the bottom two quintiles gain in share, it is not the top but the fourth quintile that lastingly loses.
Read article
Debt Brake Will Intensify Bracket Creep Problem
Martin Altemeyer-Bartscher, Götz Zeddies
Wirtschaftsdienst,
No. 2,
2017
Abstract
Geringfügige Steuermehrbelastungen, die auf die kalte Progression bei der Einkommensteuer zurückzuführen sind, werden vom Steuerzahler kaum wahrgenommen. Überschreiten die kumulierten Mehrbelastungen allerdings nach einigen Jahren eine kritische Schwelle, entsteht gewöhnlich ein politischer Druck für die Korrektur der kalten Progression. Im Unterschied zu konjunkturbedingten Einnahmeschwankungen wird dieser Einnahmezyklus in den Regelungen zur Schuldenbremse nicht berücksichtigt. Eine Indexierung des Steuertarifs, d. h. eine automatische Korrektur der kalten Progression, könnte derartige Schwankungen verhindern.
Read article
Bracket Creeps: Bane or Boon for the Stability of Numerical Budget Rules?
Martin Altemeyer-Bartscher, Götz Zeddies
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 29,
2016
Abstract
As taxpayers typically pay low attention to a small inflation-induced bracket creep of the income tax, policy-makers tend to postpone its correction into the future. However, the fiscal illusion fades away and political pressure for a tax relief arises since after some years the cumulative increase of the average tax rate exceeds a critical threshold. Using Germany as an example, this paper shows that bracket creeps can provoke revenue cycles in public budgets hindering governments’ compliance with the numerical budget rules. An indexation of the tax tariff could prevent such fluctuations and thus provides a favourable framework for the debt rule.
Read article
