Fiscalité des retraités, redistribution et équité

This article examines the impact of specific taxation decreases for retirees on the exposure to poverty, the risk of inequality and the relative standard of living of retirees and active people. Taking into account the equity criteria of Rawls and Sen, we analyze the effect of each redistribution step from the gross income to the disposable income, for each retiree and worker. We use several inequality and poverty indices. Taxation devices, implemented during the ramping up of the welfare system to reduce inequalities between workers and retirees, seem less relevant today as pensioners are, in average, no longer in a precarious situation. The tax exemptions do not match the pursuit of a Rawlsian objective of social justice. However, reduced rate of social contributions allow to limit the overexposure to poverty of non taxable retirees. Classification JEL : J26, D63, D31, C3