Artikel

Ecological tax revenue still yields lower pension contributions and higher pensions today

The ecological tax reform that Germany implemented between 1999 and 2003 increased energy tax rates-especially on gasoline and diesel. Today, the ecological tax hikes yield an annual revenue of around 20 billion euros or 0.6 percent of GDP. The money is used to finance a higher federal grant to the public pension scheme. Calculations based on a pension simulation model show that the contribution rate to the statutory pension fund is currently 1.2 percentage points lower and pensions 1.5 percent higher than they would be without the currently higher federal subsidies. A microsimulation analysis found that overall, the ecological tax reform is neutral with regard to revenue and burden. For various income groups and social groups, there are certain levels of burden and relief. For example, the reform relieves middle-income households of employees and retired persons who benefit from the public pension scheme. Households with low incomes are actually burdened, as are commuters with long commutes. These distribution effects should be taken into account in a further development of ecological taxes.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Journal: DIW Weekly Report ; ISSN: 2568-7697 ; Volume: 9 ; Year: 2019 ; Issue: 13 ; Pages: 107-114 ; Berlin: Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)

Classification
Wirtschaft
Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
Environmental Economics: Government Policy
Social Security and Public Pensions
Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
Subject
ecological tax reform
pension reform
redistribution

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Bach, Stefan
Buslei, Hermann
Harnisch, Michelle
Isaak, Niklas
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
(where)
Berlin
(when)
2019

DOI
doi:10.18723/diw_dwr:2019-13-1
Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET

Data provider

This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.

Object type

  • Artikel

Associated

  • Bach, Stefan
  • Buslei, Hermann
  • Harnisch, Michelle
  • Isaak, Niklas
  • Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)

Time of origin

  • 2019

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