The Distributive Impact of the Luxembourg Tax-Benefit System: A More Comprehensive Measurement

Abstract

This article studies the distribution of income in Luxembourg by integrating two aspects that have been previously neglected: indirect taxation and in-kind transfers. The integration of the latter is essential in Luxembourg, the country with the highest public expenditure per capita in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These issues have been understudied because of some methodological challenges, including the lack of data containing all the necessary information for this type of analysis. However, with the EUROMOD microsimulation model, different data sources, and imputation methods, we are able to obtain a more complete view of the income distribution in Luxembourg. We find that, as in many developed countries, indirect taxes are regressive. On the other hand, in-kind transfers play an important role in reducing income inequality, in particular through education and health services.