Aliquote d'imposta sul lavoro dipendente:analisi per figure tipo e con dati campionari Mind the hidden gaps

This paper deals with the distribution effects from 2000 to 2007 of the tax/benefit systems on net disposable incomes of dependents. The impact is evaluated by adopting the net average tax rates (i.e. income tax plus employees’ social security contributions less cash benefits) as a percentage of gross wages, according to the OECD definition. These rates are assessed both on stylised individuals and on microdata set for the Italian households’income and wealth, based on the Bank of Italy’s survey data. The stylised approach indicates that in ranking the main EU countries according to the net disposable income levels of one-earner couples with average income and two children, Italy comes second, following Spain.In 2006,the net tax rate accounts for 14% of gross wages compared to 17.3% of EU-15. Moreover, the redistributive role of the tax/benefits policies in Italy during 2001-2002 mainly favours average income househols compared to the single persons; by contrast, in 2003-2005 the low-income households with children are more advantaged and this impact is even more strengthened in 2007. The main results of the empirical approach regarding Italy in 2006 and 2007 are the followings:a)in 2007,the wage structure shows a relatively greater impact of cash transfers, and particularly family allowances, on increasing the lowest wage levels, accounting for 3.6% and 2.8% of the gross wages, respectively; b)in 2007,thanks to the redistributive role of more generous family allowances, as envisaged by the Finance Law for 2007,disposable incomes for the low-income workers increased especially among married household head and single with two children, who are specifically favoured; c) the breakdown by geographical areas indicates that workers living in the South of Italy are the most advantaged. A comparison of empirical results with stylised calculations on Italy shows a good match between them.