20 research outputs found
Building the Minimum Wage: Germany's First Sectoral Minimum Wage and Its Impact on Wages in the Construction Industry
The very first minimum wage in Germany was introduced in 1997 for blue-collar workers in sub-sectors of the construction industry. In the setting of a natural experiment blue-collar workers in neighboring 4-digit-industries and white-collar workers are used as control groups for differences-in-differences-in-differences estimation based on linked employer-employee data. Estimation results reveal a sizable positive average impact on wages in East Germany and no effect in West Germany. Size and significance of effects are not homogeneous across wage regimes (individual vs. collective contracts) and across the distribution suggesting spillover effects to wages where the minimum is not binding.Minimum wage, construction sector, linked employer-employee data, differences-in-differences-in-differences, unconditional quantile regression
Sharing the burden: Empirical evidence on corporate tax incidence
This study assesses the burden of capital income tax passed onto labor through wage bargaining over economic rents, using estimations based on a unique pseudo-panel data set from Germany for the period 1998 to 2006. Tax return data cover the universe of corporations subject to corporate income tax, and labor market variables reflect the full record of employees covered by Social Security. We find that wage bargaining after a reduction in tax rates does not increase the wage bill if employment effects neglected by previous empirical studies are taken into account. Any increase in the total wage bill by higher wage rates set is equally compensated for by lower levels of employment. If adjustments in employment due to the increased user cost of capital are taken into account, a cut in corporate income taxes by 1 euro increases the wage bill by 0.47 euro. The identification of these effects comes from variation in the firm-specific average corporate tax rate across firms and over time resulting from two substantial tax reforms. The endogeneity of the firmspecific tax rate is controlled for by an instrumental variable approach. The instrument for the observed average tax rate is the counterfactual tax rate that a corporation would have faced in a particular period, had there been no endogenous change of its tax base, constructed using a detailed microsimulation model. --tax incidence,wage determination,corporate income taxation,corporate tax return data
empirical evidence on corporate tax incidence
This study assesses the burden of capital income tax passed onto labor through
wage bargaining over economic rents, using estimations based on a unique
pseudo-panel data set from Germany for the period 1998 to 2006. Tax return
data cover the universe of corporations subject to corporate income tax, and
labor market variables reflect the full record of employees covered by Social
Security. We find that wage bargaining after a reduction in tax rates does not
increase the wage bill if employment effects neglected by previous empirical
studies are taken into account. Any increase in the total wage bill by higher
wage rates set is equally compensated for by lower levels of employment. If
adjustments in employment due to the increased user cost of capital are taken
into account, a cut in corporate income taxes by 1 euro increases the wage
bill by 0.47 euro. The identification of these effects comes from variation in
the firm-specific average corporate tax rate across firms and over time
resulting from two substantial tax reforms. The endogeneity of the
firmspecific tax rate is controlled for by an instrumental variable approach.
The instrument for the observed average tax rate is the counterfactual tax
rate that a corporation would have faced in a particular period, had there
been no endogenous change of its tax base, constructed using a detailed
microsimulation model
A Role for Universal Pension? Simulating Universal Pensions in Ecuador, Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa
We use four novel, cross-country comparable tax-benefit microsimulation models for
Ecuador, Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa to analyse ex ante the expansion of a universal old-age
pension in a static setting. Universal pensions would significantly reduce poverty and inequality in settings where no means-tested old-age pensions exist (such as in Ghana and Tanzania). If means-tested
old-age pensions exist and shall be maintained, universal pensions as a top up scheme only make a
difference for the income distribution if the existing schemes do not reach the entire vulnerable population such as in Ecuador. Costs for the proposed schemes are substantial. </p
A role for universal pension? Simulating universal pensions in Ecuador, Ghana, Tanzania, and South Africa
We use four novel, cross-country comparable tax-benefit microsimulation models for
Ecuador, Ghana, Tanzania, and South Africa to evaluate ex ante the expansion of a universal old-age pension in a static setting. Universal pensions would significantly reduce poverty and inequality
in settings in which no means-tested old-age pensions exist (such as Ghana and Tanzania). If
means-tested old-age pensions exist and shall be maintained, universal pensions as a top-up
scheme only make a difference for the income distribution if the existing schemes do not reach
the entire vulnerable population, such as in Ecuador. Costs for the proposed schemes are
substantial.</p
The effects of personal income tax reform on employees’ taxable income in Uganda
We evaluate a major personal income tax reform in Uganda that came into effect in
2012–13. The reform increased the tax-free lower threshold, increased tax rates for higher
incomes, and introduced an additional highest tax band. Using the universe of pay-as-you-earn
administrative data submitted by employers in the formal sector, we analyse the impact on taxable
income of the introduction of the additional top tax band. Our results indicate that the elasticity
of taxable income in Uganda is larger than in previous results from developed countries. Overall,
the additional revenue generated from the introduction of the additional top tax band by far offset
the revenues lost from the decreased revenues from employees with medium to lower taxable
incomes, despite the large elasticity of taxable income at the top. We contribute to the very scarce
literature on the effects of personal income tax reform on employees’ income in a low-income
country in Africa.</p
Taxpayer response to greater progressivity: Evidence from personal income tax reform in Uganda
We evaluate a major personal income tax reform in Uganda that came into effect in 2012–13, contributing to the scarce literature on the effects of personal income tax reform on employees’ income in a low-income country in Africa. The reform increased the tax-free lower threshold, increased tax rates for higher incomes, and introduced an additional highest tax band for top 1% of income earners. Using the universe of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) administrative data from the Uganda Tax Authority, we analyse the impact of the reform on reported labour incomes. In the preferred specification, we find very limited support for behavioural reactions. However, heterogeneity analysis reveals that top-income workers in firms handled by ordinary (as opposed to medium or large taxpayer) offices report lower incomes after the reform. We also find suggestive evidence that part of the response may arise from income shifting. The reform managed to raise more revenue and it also led to a limited reduction in after-tax income inequality.nonPeerReviewe