Who Really Benefits from Consumption Tax Cuts? Evidence from a Large VAT Reform in France

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Benzarti, Youssef; Carloni, Dorian
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara; Congressional Budget Office
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20170504
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 38-63
• 关键词: prices

摘要

This paper evaluates the incidence of a large cut in value-added taxes (VATs) (for French sit-down restaurants in 2009. In contrast to previous studies, which. only focus on the price effects of VAT reforms, we estimate the effects of the VAT cut on four groups: workers, firm owners, consumers, and suppliers of material goods. Using a difference-in-differences strategy on firm-level data, we find that: firm owners pocketed more than 55 percent of the VAT cut; consumers, sellers of material goods, and employees shared the remaining windfall with consumers benefiting the least; and the employment effects were limited.