Public Support for Tax Policies in COVID-19 Times: Evidence from Luxembourg

peer reviewed ; We study attitudes towards the introduction of hypothetical new taxes to finance the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic. We rely on survey data collected in Luxembourg in 2020. The survey asks for the agreement of respondents over: a one-time net wealth tax, an inheritance tax, a temporary solidarity income tax, and a temporary increase in VAT. All questions include different and randomly assigned tax attributes (tax rates and exemption amounts). We find a clear divide with relatively high support for new wealth and inheritance taxes on the one hand and a low support for increases i... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Olivera, Javier
van Kerm, Philippe
Dokumenttyp: journal article
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Schlagwörter: wealth tax / COVID-19 / inheritance tax / preference for redistribution / VAT / income tax / Social & behavioral sciences / psychology / Sociology & social sciences / Business & economic sciences / Social economics / Sciences sociales & comportementales / psychologie / Sociologie & sciences sociales / Sciences économiques & de gestion / Economie sociale
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26745339
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://orbilu.uni.lu/handle/10993/53406

peer reviewed ; We study attitudes towards the introduction of hypothetical new taxes to finance the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic. We rely on survey data collected in Luxembourg in 2020. The survey asks for the agreement of respondents over: a one-time net wealth tax, an inheritance tax, a temporary solidarity income tax, and a temporary increase in VAT. All questions include different and randomly assigned tax attributes (tax rates and exemption amounts). We find a clear divide with relatively high support for new wealth and inheritance taxes on the one hand and a low support for increases in VAT and income taxes on the other hand. While 58% of respondents agree or strongly agree with a one-time tax levied on net worth, only 24% are in favor of a small increase in VAT. Support for any tax is however negatively associated with the size of the tax as measured by the predicted revenues. Our results indicate that a one-time wealth tax could raise substantial revenues and still garner public support.