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Who Should Bear the Burden of Covid-19 Related Fiscal Pressure? An Optimal Income Taxation Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Mehmet Ayaz
  • Lea Fricke
  • Clemens Fuest
  • Dominik Sachs

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in public debt in most countries. This will increase fiscal pressure in the future. We study how the shape of the optimal nonlinear income tax schedule is affected by this increase. We calibrate the workhorse optimal income tax model to five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Applying an inverse-optimum approach to the pre COVID-19 economies we obtain the Pareto weights implicitly applied by the different countries. We then ask how the schedule of marginal and average tax rates should be optimally adjusted to the increase in fiscal pressure. For all countries, we find that the increase in fiscal pressure leads to a less progressive optimal tax schedule both in terms of marginal and average tax rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehmet Ayaz & Lea Fricke & Clemens Fuest & Dominik Sachs, 2021. "Who Should Bear the Burden of Covid-19 Related Fiscal Pressure? An Optimal Income Taxation Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 9420, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9420
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    Cited by:

    1. Axelle Ferriere & Philipp Grübener & Gaston Navarro & Oliko Vardishvili, 2023. "On the Optimal Design of Transfers and Income Tax Progressivity," Journal of Political Economy Macroeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(2), pages 276-333.
    2. Keuschnigg, Christian & Johs, Julian & Stevens, Jacob, 2021. "Consolidating the Covid Debt," Economics Working Paper Series 2112, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    3. Robin Jessen & Maria Metzing & Davud Rostam-Afschar, 2022. "Optimal Taxation When the Tax Burden Matters," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 78(3), pages 312-340.
    4. Axelle Ferriere & Philipp Grubener & Gaston Navarro & Oliko Vardishvili, 2021. "Larger transfers financed with more progressive taxes? On the optimal design of taxes and transfers," PSE Working Papers halshs-03466762, HAL.
    5. Sebastian Link & Manuel Menkhoff & Andreas Peichl & Paul Schüle, 2022. "Corporate Taxes Reduce Investment: New Evidence from Germany," EconPol Policy Brief 44, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fiscal pressure; optimal taxation;

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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