Browse IFS
Publication types
Journal Articles
December 2011 (Blackwell Publishing)
Article
Revenue Elasticities in Complex Income Tax Structures: An Application to Spain
Type: Journal Articles
Authors: John Creedy and José Félix Sanz-Sanz
ISSN: Print 0143-5671 Online: 1475-5890
Volume, issue, pages: Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 535-561
JEL classification: H24, H71
Keywords: income taxation, revenue elasticity

Download BibTex file | 

This paper derives analytical expressions for the revenue elasticity of complex income tax systems, as applied to tax units and in aggregate. Among the complexities considered are the schedular nature of income tax systems and the role of central and regional governments, along with the existence of a range of intricate tax credits and eligible expenditures and deductions. Empirical estimates are obtained for the case of Spain using a cross-sectional data set, which enables a number of important ancillary elasticities (relating to allowances and tax credits, and different income sources) to be estimated. It is found that there is considerable variation among tax units in the revenue elasticity, with highly positively skewed distributions. The nature of the distributions varies among regions of Spain, and the aggregate elasticities for each region were found to display some variation associated with income distribution differences. The national aggregate is found to be around 1.3.

Download full version (PDF 421 KB)

Search

Title (or part of title)
Author surname (or part of surname)