Contenu du sommaire : Etudes de la fiscalité

The Development of the Egalitarian Nature of the Taxes on Income/Social Contributions Pair Under the Fifth Republic, by Alain Trannoy, Rachel Jehanne, Michel Lebreton, Patrick Moyes. The purpose of this paper is to grasp the development of the egalitarian nature of rates of taxation on income and wage-earners' social contributions over the 1959-1989 period, with no reference to any specific distribution of income. We used the equivalent of elasticity of income after taxes as a progressivity indicator (Jakobsson) for needs which are not continually differentiable. The study of the standard example of a wage-earning bachelor reveals uncertainty everywhere induced by legislative changes with the opposite effects. Raising the ceiling for social contributions, on the one hand, the effect of which is more egalitarian than not, was offset by increased rates under the ceiling. On the other hand, as far as income tax was concerned, the increase in the taxable threshold, which has more of an inegalitarian effect, was compensated for by raising the marginal rate of maximal taxation.

Redistributive Effects of the "CSG", by Réjane Hugounenq, José Sastre Descals. The social contribution for all ("CSG") funds part of social security by taxation and fits into the framework of redistributive logic. The mechanics of redistribution generated by the "CSG" is first analyzed, highlighting the key role played by marginal rates. Using simulations run on a sample of households representative of the French population, the direct redistributive effects of the "CSG" on disposable income of households are measured. Inequality indicators are used to assess how effective this reform is as far as its objective of social justice is concerned. The "CSG" proves to be a socially dominant reform where the dimensions of redistribution that are taken into account are simultaneously income and family size. Lastly, the redistributive effect of a "CSG" increase is compared to that of an increase in the wage-earner's national health contribution.

Job Supply in Couples and Tax Laws, by Valérie Lechene. This paper presents a simultaneous household labour-supply model with regard to tax laws, using French data. Household preferences are set out using a family utility function, maximized under a convex piecewise linear budget constraint. The stochastic specification reflects heterogeneity in preferences appearing in the hour functions of the spouses, as well as measurement errors on desired hours. The estimation procedure used is the one we owe to Hausman (1980), consisting in maximizing the likelihood of the sample over the entire budget set.

Financing, Tax Laws and Growth of Industrial Firms, by François Legendre, Michel Bua, Philippe Girard, Philippe Redondo. In this paper, our purpose was to asses the results of a cut in the corporate income tax rate - looked upon as a decrease in the user cost of capital - on the activity and employment level. We used a sample group of 800 industrial firms examined over the 1980 to 1987 period, first to determine the parameters characterizing production processes from the econometric standpoint, and to adjust the impact of a cut in the corporate income tax rate on the basis of the type of financing for each firm, and lastly, to simulate the effects of a cut in the user cost of capital, taking the inputs cost structure into consideration at the individual level as well as the effect of supply induced by a decrease in cost of production.

Comparative Analysis of Corporate Tax Laws in European Countries : A Simulation Run Using Individual Data, by Jean-Noêl Caubet-Hilloutou, Philippe Girard, Pierre-Yves Letournel, Philippe Redondo. To compare corporate taxes in several European countries, this paper applies foreign tax laws to corporate accounts of French firms. The study was done on a sample of some 19,000 firms, representative of French companies. The gain or loss in tax costs borne by a French firm when taxed according to tax laws in force in other countries was correlated with structural factors (sector, size, profitability...). It seems French corporate tax laws occupy a median position, even though taxes which are not based on profit are higher here. The sizable differential there is between individual cases can probably be explained by the profitability gap that exists between firms.

A Computable General Equilibrium Model applied to French Tax Laws : Long-term Results, by Katheline Schubert, Pierre- Yves Letournel. This paper proffers a computable general equilibrium model, the purpose of which is to measure the economic impacts of modifying structure of the French tax laws. The model used is thus a dynamic overlapping generations model, in which the agents optimize behaviour over the whole of their life cycle. The economy is an open one and includes two productive sectors for the domestic and markets respectively. The government levies taxes and consumes goods and services. The agents' anticipations are perfect. After the sizing procedure adopted, we set out the long-term results of standard amendments to the tax laws.

The Fiscal Reforms in Canada and Quebec : a General Equilibrium Analysis for Quebec, by Pierre Lefebvre, Francine Mayer. The governments of Canada and Quebec recently engaged in a sizable reform of their tax scheme, the purpose of which was to make it more equitable and competitive. Our analysis focusses on the consequences of these reforms for Quebec. It is based on the simulation results obtained using a Shoven-Whalley type general equilibrium model of the Quebec economy, developed on a multi-sector and multi-household basis. One of the things this model integrates are the changes in the job behaviour of households likely to be induced by reforms. Its also enables us to measure the impact on macroeconomic aggregates, improvements in welfare and distributive effects related to each one of the reforms on which a simulation is run.

Nominal Rigidity and Fiscal Neutrality Property : A Test using French Data, by Franck Portier. This paper presents a theoretical and empirical study of fiscal neutrality property, simulating a monopolistic competition model using the estimation of a semi-reduced form on French data. Fiscal neutrality property is rejected in the short run and accepted in the long run. We then estimate the impulse responses to a permanent shock on the fiscal structure. According to the theoretical simulations, these impulse responses show a greater nominal rigidity in wages than in prices, leading to a significant loss in real wages when the shock consists of a VAT cut set off by a rise in income tax.

Profitability for Individuals of a Property Investment in France : An Analytical approach, by Jean Beunardeau. The net profitability of a property investment depends on its gross return, maintenance charges and miscellaneous costs, taxes and the changes in the market value of the property. Each of these variables depends on the owner, the building and the location thereof. For a few specific examples, this paper gives an analytical approach of the different components of return on the owner's investment, to highlight the influence of tax laws, in particular.

Memo on the Equivalence between Taxes in a General Equilibrium Context in a Closed Economy, by Katheline Schubert. This paper examines the problem of equivalence, from the standpoint of both the payer and the payee, or the government, between tax on consumption and tax on wages, in a general equilibrium framework in a closed economy. The two usual dynamic models for the study on consumption, savings and capital accumulation, ie the indefinite-term model of optimization and the overlapping generations model, are analyzed. In both cases, it is shown that ensuring equivalency for the payer does not mean there is equivalence for the payee : tax receipts are modified by substitution.

A Robust Equivalence, by Henri Sterdyniak. A substitution of tax on consumption to tax on wages is often proposed. This papers argues that these two types of taxes must be considered as equivalent, on the long or on the short term.

The Cut in the Corporate Income Tax Rate since 1986 : An Analysis on the basis of Individual Corporate Data, by Jean- Noel Caubet-Hilloutou, Philippe Girard, Philippe Redondo. The cut in the corporate tax rate, introduced in 1986, made it possible to reduce costs borne by companies under this item by 25%. Before 1989, as there was one single rate for this tax, this cut had had no redistributive effect. Since that time, two different rates have been set on the basis of whether profits are distributed or kept by the firms. This duality in rates alters the very nature of the basis of tax assessment, now the result of two elements independent of one another (at least on a short-term basis), taxable profit and dividends. This amendment resulted in redistribution, favourable for the industry and trade sectors, as well as for medium-sized firms, but unfavourable for financial establishments and big firms.

Facts and Figures : Memo on the Tax Laws, by Philippe Trainar. The purpose of this memo is to present a few of the principles organizing the French tax laws and to give a rough idea of the figures one should be familiar with to better understand the problems that are dealt with in this issue.