Shifting from Social Security Contributions to Consumption Taxes

This paper investigates the merits of increasing work incentives for low-income workers by shifting part of the tax burden from social security contributions (SSC) to consumption taxes (specifically VAT) in 13 European OECD countries.

OECD Tax Policy Studies

The list of titles that have been published in the series of Tax Policy Studies. This series aims to disseminiate to a wider audience work undertaken by the OECD Secretariat in the areas of tax policy and tax administration.

Related Documents

• Taxing Wages
• Revenue Statistics 1965-2010: 2011 Edition
• OECD Tax Database
• OECD Fiscal Decentralisation Database

Tax: the average tax burden on earnings in OECD countries continues to rise

The average tax and social security burden on employment incomes increased in 26 out of 34 OECD countries in 2011 according to the new OECD Taxing Wages publication. Tax payers in Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Slovak Republic were among those hit with the largest increases.

How tax can tackle the job crisis

Taxes affect incentives on both sides of the labour market. They can discourage employers from hiring, would-be employees from taking up work, and current employees from working longer and harder. Alastair Thomas explains in the OECD Observer.

Related Documents

• OECD Tax Policy Study No. 21: Taxation and Employment

Tax revenues stabilise in OECD countries in 2010

OECD countries acknowledge that taxes must play a role in the process of fiscal consolidation as they battle unprecedented budget deficits. In 2010, the majority of OECD governments have stabilised their tax to GDP, with the average ratio moving up slightly from 33.8% in 2009 to 33.9% in 2010.

Fossil Fuel Subsidies

When G20 Leaders met in Pittsburgh in September 2009, they agreed to “rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption”.

Tax: Global Forum Publishes Report to the G20 on Tax Transparency

Tax Transparency 2011: Report on Progress, a report prepared by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, was delivered to the G20 in Cannes and is now available to journalists.&

The Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Tax Expenditures - A Novel Approach

This study evaluates the regional tax incentives for business investment in Italy and addresses the following questions: (i) how much additional investment was stimulated by the government intervention; (ii) has the public financing displaced (part of) the private financing; (iii) to what extent would the outcomes on firm performance have not been achieved without the public support?

Non-Tax Compulsory Payments as an Additional Burden on Labour Income

In 23 of the 34 OECD member countries, it is compulsory for employers and/ or employees to make additional payments, in addition to taxes and social security contributions, which increase the overall burden on labour income. These non-tax compulsory payments, which are typically paid to privatelymanaged funds, will either increase the employer’s labour costs or reduce the employee’s net take-home pay in a similar way to taxes,

Corporate Taxation and SMEs: The Italian Experience

This paper focuses on the tax impediments faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in Italy. The fact that small businesses are characterized by financing constraints and have less access to bank loans is often emphasized as an argument in favour of a special tax treatment for small enterprises. On the one hand, however, the evidence that SMEs suffer severe financing constraints is not overwhelming; on the other hand, tax relief