Corporation Taxes: distribution and trends,
by Jean- Yves Chevallier, Elisabeth Demay, Hélène Stepnik; Max Tabouillot.
Statistical analysis of companies produces is more effective when focus- sed on the entire distribution (or «spread») of data rather than on mean or median values. The data requirements of such an approach were solved by building a model covering 80% of all firms engaged in producing goods and services. Examining corporation taxes with this model offers new and interesting results.
It reveals that contribution to value added is highly concentrated, as is the payment of coporation taxes. The concentration of corporation tax is even greater than the concentration of income tax, despite the proportionality of the former and the progressivity of the latter.
Sorting companies in ascending order of corporation tax paid yields the following results.
The first 40% of enterprises produce one fourth of total added value and pay an insignificant amount of the corporation tax.
The following 50% produce another fourth of the total added value and pay 15% of the total corporation tax.
The upper 1 0% produce half the added value and pay 85% of the corporation tax.
The steadiness of this pattern hides considerable annual variations in the tax paid by each firm over the five-year sample. Almost every company goes through a poor year, with profits falling by 10% or more. Such firms typically overpay their taxes, positive final tax payments are for the most part-paid by firms whose annual added value increase by 10% or more.
Although these microeconomic variations complicate the analysis and forecasting of the corporation tax, the macroeconomic result is not random. The study sharply points out that, whatever the industry, firms which are more profitable than average create new jobs, pay higher wages, and invest more.
The first two sections of this paper describe statistical characteristics of the corporation tax. The third section studies tax overpayments resulting from variations in taxable income, and illustrates the possibilities for analysis and simulation the model offers.
Relative producer performance in French agriculture, by Pierre Pinon, Gilbert Rini. Disparities m french agriculture are analysed through an empirical approach of relative producer performance. Cross-sectional data are used from trie French agricultural accountancy network (Réseau d'information comptable agricole) for 1 978 and 1 979, while averaged individual values are taken from 1976-1978. Allocation of conventional inputs like machinery and equipment, labor and land, give only partial explanation of performance. Further integration of management efficiency seems necessary. An attempt is made to measure income increases which would result if all firms operated at the maximum efficiency level.
