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The distributional impact of taxes and transfers in Poland

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  • Goraus Tanska,Karolina Marta
  • Inchauste Comboni,Maria Gabriela

Abstract

This paper assesses the impact of fiscal policy on the incidence, depth, and severity of poverty, and examines whether there is room for an increased role for fiscal policy in improving the wellbeing of the poor. The results show that the combined effect of taxes and social spending helped substantially to reduce poverty and inequality in Poland in 2014, in line with other European Union countries, with most of the reduction largely being achieved by pensions. However, in cash terms, households beginning in the second decile were net payers to the treasury in 2014, as the share of taxes paid exceeded the cash benefits received for all but the poorest 10 percent of the population. Although the Polish fiscal system in 2014 had the capacity to redistribute, it had a relatively weak capacity to reduce poverty given the resources at its disposal, and this was especially true for families with children. Microsimulations of the introduction of the Family 500 program in 2016 show the redistributive and poverty reduction impacts of the new program, even after taking into account the potential increase in indirect taxes. Finally, alternative reforms of the tax-free allowance are considered, and estimates of their likely impact on poverty, inequality, and the potential fiscal cost are presented. The simulations show that there are potential efficiency gains from further targeting each of these new initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Goraus Tanska,Karolina Marta & Inchauste Comboni,Maria Gabriela, 2016. "The distributional impact of taxes and transfers in Poland," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7787, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7787
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    Cited by:

    1. Aleksandra Kolasa & Ewa Weychert, 2024. "The causal effect of catastrophic health expenditure on poverty in Poland," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 25(2), pages 193-206, March.
    2. Martinez Aguilar,Sandra Natalia & Fuchs Tarlovsky,Alan & Ortiz-Juarez,Eduardo & Del Carmen Hasbun,Giselle Eugenia, 2017. "The impact of fiscal policy on inequality and poverty in Chile," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7939, The World Bank.
    3. Michał Brzeziński & Michał Myck & Mateusz Najsztub, 2019. "Reevaluating distributional consequences of the transition to market economy in Poland: new results from combined household survey and tax return data," Working Papers 2019-18, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    4. Michal Brzezinski, 2017. "Is high inequality an issue in Poland?," IBS Policy Papers 01/2017, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    5. Barbara Liberda & Katarzyna Sałach & Marek Pęczkowski, 2023. "The Effects of Child Benefit on Household Saving," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 447-460, June.
    6. Cuevas,Pablo Facundo & Lucchetti,Leonardo Ramiro & Nebiler,Metin, 2020. "What Are the Poverty and Inequality Impacts of Fiscal Policy in Turkey ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9300, The World Bank.
    7. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    8. Juan Cruz Lopez Del Valle & Caterina Brest López & Joaquín Campabadal & Julieta Ladronis & Nora Lustig & Valentina Martínez Pabón & Mariano Tommasi, 2021. "Fiscal Policy, Income Redistribution and Poverty Reduction in Argentina," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 111, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    9. Iga Magda & Aneta Kielczewska & Nicola Brandt, 2018. "The “Family 500+” child allowance and female labour supply in Poland," IBS Working Papers 01/2018, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    10. Antosiewicz, Marek & Fuentes, J. Rodrigo & Lewandowski, Piotr & Witajewski-Baltvilks, Jan, 2022. "Distributional effects of emission pricing in a carbon-intensive economy: The case of Poland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    11. Michał Myck & Kajetan Trzciński, 2019. "From Partial to Full Universality: The Family 500+ Programme in Poland and its Labor Supply Implications," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 17(03), pages 36-44, October.
    12. Piotr Misztal, 2018. "Universal basic income. Theory and practice," Managerial Economics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Management, vol. 19(1), pages 103-116.
    13. Lustig, Nora & Martinez Pabon, Valentina & Pessino, Carola, 2023. "Fiscal policy, income redistribution, and poverty reduction in Latin America," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120683, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Lustig, Nora & Martinez Pabon, Valentina & Pessino, Carola, 2023. "Fiscal Policy, Income Redistribution, and Poverty Reduction in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13193, Inter-American Development Bank.
    15. Brzezinski, Michal & Najsztub, Mateusz, 2021. "The impact of "Family 500+" programme on household incomes, poverty and inequality," SocArXiv vkr6h, Center for Open Science.
    16. Piotr Paradowski & Joanna Wolszczak-Derlacz & Eva Sierminska, 2020. "Inequality, Poverty and Child Benefits: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," LIS Working papers 799, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.

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