Personal and household income taxation in a progressive tax system: evidence from Italy

I compare personal and household income taxation and study the effects of tax progression under the two systems. Potential reforms of the Italian tax system are simulated, endogenizing labor supply reactions. Results show that, with respect to a number of indicators, the choice of the tax unit is more relevant than the degree of progression of the tax schedule. A personal and progressive tax system provides incentives to female labor supply and turns out to be the most effective in redistributing income and raising revenue, with little productive costs compared with a flat tax rate. Household taxation has instead a number of drawbacks when coupled with a progressive tax schedule.