Welfare costs of taxation under sovereign default risk / Custos de bem-estar dos impostos sob risco de default soberano

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

This dissertation presents a general equilibrium model, with contingent service of sovereign debt, constructed to analyze the impacts of taxes on welfare. In this model, variations on the tax structure (originated from reforms) impact welfare directly, in the form of allocative distortions, and also through their indirect effects on the probability of default on sovereign debt. I evaluate, quantitatively, for Brazil, the welfare costs associated to each type of taxation. I find that the total welfare loss due to current taxation in Brazil is close to 19% of long-term consumption. The ranking of tax types demonstrates to be robust, both in terms of welfare costs per unit of revenue raised (under the current tax structure), and in terms of additional welfare costs per unit of additional revenue raised. From the most efficient to the least efficient: consumption tax, labor income tax, capital income tax. I observe that a growth in tax revenues through the increase in either consumption or labor income tax can generate negative welfare costs. This is a possibility in economies in which the elasticity of the probability of default in relation to the level of government revenues is high enough, and additional costs of default are substantial. I also find that perverse results (in the sense of being counter-intuitive and undesirable) may be generated by well-intentioned changes in the tax structure.

ASSUNTO(S)

dívida pública bem-estar econômico impostos taxation economic welfare tributação public debt sovereign default

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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