Tax-benefit systems, income distribution and work incentives in the European Union

Abstract

In this paper we study the impact of tax-benefit systems on income inequality and work incentives
across the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU). Using EUROMOD, the EU-wide taxbenefit
microsimulation model, we disentangle the role of taxes, benefits and social insurance
contributions in influencing country specific Gini coefficients and Marginal Effective Tax Rates.The extent to which tax-benefit systems contribute to income redistribution and provide work incentives at the intensive margin is found to vary considerably across the 27 Member States of the EU. Our results further highlight the presence of a trade-off between income redistribution and work incentives across EU-27 countries.