Progressive taxes and top income shares: A historical perspective on pre- and post-tax income concentration in Switzerland

Christian Frey and Christoph Schaltegger

Economics Letters, 2016, vol. 148, issue C, 5-9

Abstract: The literature on income concentration largely focuses on pre-tax income; the current study provides new data concerning both pre- and post-tax top income shares in Switzerland, from the 1945–2012 period. Redistribution due to progressive income taxes increased until the 1970s, and since then, the highest-income households have avoided increased cantonal income taxes by taking residence in low-tax cantons. Lower-level top income groups are less mobile than the highest-level groups, but have benefited from tax policy reforms since the 1980s. Nonetheless, despite fiscal federalism, redistribution and post-tax income concentration have been exceptionally stable in Switzerland.

Keywords: Inequality; Income concentration; Redistribution; Top income; Personal taxation; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 H23 H73 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:148:y:2016:i:c:p:5-9

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2016.08.041

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