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Enhancing microsimulation analysis of wealth-related policies in EUROMOD

  1. Sarah Kuypers  Is a corresponding author
  2. Jonas Boone
  3. Johannes Derboven
  4. Francesco Figari
  5. Gerlinde Verbist
  1. Centre for Social Policy, Belgium
  2. University of Insubria, Italy
  3. University of Essex, United Kingdom
Research article
Cite this article as: S. Kuypers, J. Boone, J. Derboven, F. Figari, G. Verbist; 2020; Enhancing microsimulation analysis of wealth-related policies in EUROMOD; International Journal of Microsimulation; 13(3); 5-26. doi: 10.34196/ijm.00223
10 tables

Tables

Table 1
Overview of income reference periods, HFCS second wave.
Income reference year
2010 2012 2013 2014
ES EE, PT, IE BE, DE, CY, LU, AT, PL, SL, SK, FI, EL FR, IT, HU
  1. Source: The HFCN (Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Network) (2016). Cross-country metadatainformation. Wave 2, European Central Bank.

Table 2
Descriptive statistics of sample and weights, EM-HFCS vs. EM-SILC.
Households Original individuals Restricted individuals Mean weight
Austria EM-HFCS 2,997 6,189 6,168 1,335
EM-SILC 5,909 - 12,945 647
Belgium EM-HFCS 2,238 5,200 5,187 2,143
EM-SILC 5,817 - 13,896 781
Cyprus EM-HFCS 1,289 4,223 4,214 198
EM-SILC 4,294 - 12,000 71
Estonia EM-HFCS 2,220 5,709 5,650 225
EM-SILC 5,433 - 14,210 93
Finland EM-HFCS 11,030 27,142 27,142 198
EM-SILC 11,030 - 27,142 198
France EM-HFCS 12,035 28,845 28,577 2,229
EM-SILC 11,390 - 26,558 2,342
Germany EM-HFCS 4,461 10,201 10,160 7,833
EM-SILC 12,744 - 26,438 3,015
Greece EM-HFCS 3,003 7,744 7,741 1,386
EM-SILC 14,096 - 34,380 311
Hungary EM-HFCS 6,207 14,623 14,473 663
EM-SILC 7,770 - 18,668 519
Ireland EM-HFCS 5,419 14,546 14,546 316
EM-SILC 4,592 - 11,794 386
Italy EM-HFCS 8,156 19,366 19,290 3,131
EM-SILC 17,985 - 42,791 1,413
Luxembourg EM-HFCS 1,601 4,444 4,400 115
EM-SILC 5,802 - 15,462 32
Poland EM-HFCS 3,455 9,035 9,035 4,215
EM-SILC 12,978 - 35,991 1,045
Portugal EM-HFCS 6,207 16,513 16,404 634
EM-SILC 6,257 - 15,926 660
Slovakia EM-HFCS 2,135 5,433 5,378 959
EM-SILC 5,490 - 15,681 332
Slovenia EM-HFCS 2,553 7,245 7,204 285
EM-SILC 9,205 - 28,034 71
Spain EM-HFCS 6,106 15,852 15,788 2,892
EM-SILC 13,597 - 36,992 1,244
  1. Source: Own calculations based on EUROMOD and micro-datafrom EM-HFCS and EM-SILC.

Table 3
Ratio cadastral values/market values.
Country Ratio
Austria 0.105
Belgium 0.004
Finland 0.510
France 0.022 for buildings, 0.105 for land
Germany 0.080
Italy 0.0033 for main residence, 0.0097 for other real estate
Luxembourg 0.005
Portugal 0.809
Spain 0.360
  1. Note: Ratio between the total of cadastral values from administrative data and the total market value of all properties estimated in HFCS, for Belgium between mean cadastral value in EU-SILC and mean market value in HFCS, for Luxembourg ratio was inferred from policy parameters.

Table 4
Overview of uprating indices used for wealth variables in EUROMOD, Germany (in billion euros).
Variables uprated by the index Value2013 Value2017 Ratio value 2017/2013 Source
Wealth from main residence, Wealth from other buildings, Purchase value of main residence, Purchase value of other buildings 7160.3 8328.8 1.16 Gross stock of buildings and structures (1)
Wealth from vehicles 302.2 328.8 1.09 Stock of personal transport equipment (2)
Wealth from valuables 157.9 175.9 1.11 Stock of other durables (2)
Self-employment business wealth 317.3 332.4 1.05 Stock of machinery & equipment and intellectual property products (1)
Wealth from deposits 1798.8 2119.6 1.18 Stock of transferable & other deposits (3)
Wealth from mutual funds, wealth from managed accounts 398.3 576.2 1.45 Stock of investment fund shares (3)
Wealth from bonds 179.0 120.5 0.67 Stock of debt securities (3)
Wealth from private non-self-employment businesses 264.4 314.7 1.19 Stock of unlisted shares and other equity (3)
Wealth from listed shares 223.2 327.4 1.47 Stock of listed shares (domestic & other (3)
Wealth from private pensions and life insurances 1555.6 1826.0 1.17 Stock of life insurance and pension entitlements (3)
Wealth from other assets 328.0 384.8 1.17 Stock of non-life insurance technical reserves and other accounts (3)
Debts 1565.1 1727.5 1.11 Stock of total liabilities (3)
Value of inheritances and components of inheritances 17.3 23.3 1.35 Total amount of inheritances>0 euro (4)
Value of gifts and components of gifts 11.5 11.2 0.97 Total amount of gifts>0 euro (4)
Net wealth 11920.7 13876.7 1.16 Stock of net wealth (sum of fixed assets, consumer durables and financial assets less liabilities) (1,2 and 3)
  1. Note: All stock variables refer to the situation at the end of the year.

  2. Source: (1) National Accounts, Fixed assets by sector (Federal Statistical Office Germany, 2018a); (2) National Wealth Accounts, consumer durables (Federal Statistical Office Germany, 2018b); (3) Financial Accounts (Deutsche Bundesbank, 2018); (4) Finanzen und Steuern, Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuer (Federal Statistical Office Germany, 2018c).

Table 5
Overview of simulation new wealth-related taxes in EUROMOD, 2017.
Real property tax Real property transfer tax Inheritance tax Gift tax General net wealth tax Specific net wealth tax
Austria ES ES N1 N1 N N
Belgium ES ES ES ES N N
Cyprus ES ES ES2 ES2 N N
Estonia ES3 N N N N N
Finland ES ENS ENS ENS N N
France ES ES ES ES ES N
Germany ES ES ES ES N N
Greece ES ES ES ES N N
Hungary ENS ES ES ES N N
Ireland ES ES ES ES N N
Italy ES ES ES ES N ES
Luxembourg ES ES ES ES N N
Poland ES ES ES ES N N
Portugal ES ES ES4 ES4 N N
Slovakia ES ENS5 N N N N
Slovenia ES ES ES ES N N
Spain ES ES ES ES ES6 N
  1. Note: ES= exists & simulated; ENS= exists & not simulated; N= does not exist. 1The inheritance & gift tax was abolished in 2008. A provision for inheritances and gifts still exists under the real property transfer tax. 2Inheritance & gift tax was abolished in 2000 and thereafter included in the legislation of the real property transfer tax. 3Land tax 4Inheritance & gift tax was abolished in 2004 and thereafter included in the stamp duty. 5In Slovakia there is a real property transfer tax provision. We are not able to simulate this provision since it requires specific information. However, the budgetary impact of the tax is very limited. 6The general net wealth tax was abolished in Spain between 2008 and 2011 and was reintroduced thereafter.

Table 6
Overview of refined wealth-related policies in EUROMOD, 2017.
Taxation of income from financial assets Taxation of income from real property Tax relief for mortgage repayment Tax relief for contributions made to private pension funds Asset-test for social benefits Country specific tax
Austria ESR1 ES ESR2 ESR3 ESR n/a
Belgium ES ESR ESR ES ES ESR4
Cyprus ES ES EN5 ES ESR ESR6
Estonia ESR ES ES ES EN n/a
Finland ES ES EN ES ES n/a
France ESR ESR ESR ES N n/a
Germany ES ES ESR EN ESR n/a
Greece ESR ESR N N ES n/a
Hungary ESR ES N ES ESR n/a
Ireland ES ESR ESR ES ESR n/a
Italy ES ES ES ES ES n/a
Luxembourg ES ES ESR ES ESR n/a
Poland ES ES ES ESR ES n/a
Portugal ES ES ESR ES ESR n/a
Slovakia ES ES EN7 ES ES8 n/a
Slovenia ESR ESR N ES EN n/a
Spain N9 ES ESR10 ES ES n/a
  1. Note: ES = exists & simulated; ESR = exists, simulated & refined; EN = exists & not simulated; N = does not exist. 1Tax on capital gains. 2Included under the tax allowance for cost of earnings and tax allowance for exceptional deductions. 3Included under the tax allowance for exceptional deductions. 4Tax on long term saving. 5No specific information was found online such that we cannot implement this tax. 6Special contribution to defense. 7Not yet applicable in 2013 and 2017. 8Social assistance is the only means-tested benefit which is simulated for Slovakia and we did not find any applicable asset-test. 9Exemption for dividends was abolished in 2015. 10Since 2013 the mortgage tax credit is no longer in effect for individuals who bought their residences after 1st of January of that year.

Table 7
Comparison of key EUROMOD equivalised income concepts (in € per year), EM-HFCS vs. EM-SILC, income reference year.
Country Mean Median Gini-coefficients
Original income Disposable income Original income Disposable income Original income Disposable income
HFCS SILC HFCS SILC HFCS SILC HFCS SILC HFCS SILC HFCS SILC
Austria 27,274 32,553 21,627 25,185 24,575 28,198 20,174 22,519 0.288 0.364 0.200 0.250
Belgium 30,623 26,686 21,623 21,023 27,227 24,206 19,863 20,038 0.374 0.396 0.250 0.221
Cyprus 16,098 18,652 15,404 19,100 12,600 14,229 12,790 15,115 0.404 0.412 0.324 0.338
Estonia 10,353 8,112 9,345 7,502 7,869 6,727 7,291 6,356 0.468 0.381 0.401 0.317
Finland 31,601 30,329 26,359 25,573 27,736 26,760 23,962 23,211 0.364 0.379 0.233 0.241
France 22,079 28,914 20,033 23,994 19,138 24,485 17,467 20,802 0.401 0.371 0.260 0.276
Germany 31,375 28,600 23,852 22,061 24,222 24,379 19,641 19,526 0.431 0.378 0.318 0.280
Greece 14,339 11,161 12,621 9,886 11,780 8,990 10,511 8,549 0.386 0.409 0.346 0.330
Hungary 6,225 5,889 4,897 4,429 4,998 5,199 4,067 4,030 0.412 0.355 0.329 0.286
Ireland 28,790 22,744 24,531 22,156 21,886 18,134 21,145 19,573 0.493 0.518 0.331 0.275
Italy 20,137 22,020 15,484 22,021 16,290 18,338 13,340 15,557 0.407 0.388 0.340 0.314
Luxembourg 48,971 44,526 39,801 37,874 36,800 37,039 33,225 33,816 0.424 0.385 0.296 0.242
Poland 8,898 7,434 6,978 6,040 7,410 6,309 5,956 5,265 0.378 0.367 0.333 0.304
Portugal 11,693 11,903 10,395 10,501 8,725 8,960 8,582 8,726 0.433 0.438 0.330 0.319
Slovakia 7,841 7,933 6,945 7,026 7,046 7,105 6,277 6,461 0.352 0.322 0.252 0.236
Slovenia 11,436 14,731 9,587 12,648 9,650 12,988 8,580 11,728 0.388 0.363 0.264 0.241
Spain 16,883 15,651 16,495 14,714 13,043 13,067 13,186 13,384 0.451 0.400 0.383 0.313
  1. Notes: White cells refer to differences of less than 5%, light grey cells refer to differences of between 5% and 10%, medium grey cells refer to differences of between 10% and 20% and dark grey cells refer to differences of more than 20%. In case of Hungary amounts in national currency have been converted to euros based on the average exchange rate in 2017 reported by the European Central Bank, namely €1=HUF 309.19. For Poland the exchange rate applied is equal to €1=4.2259 PLN.

  2. Source: Own calculations based on EUROMOD and micro-datafrom EM-HFCS and EM-SILC.

Table 8
Number of observations potentially liable for and actually paying the tax for each of the simulated wealth-related taxes, 2017.
Country Wealth-related tax Number of potentially liable observations Number of observed taxpayers
Austria Real property tax 1,412 1,412 (2,033,783)
Real property transfer tax 27 27 (37,195)
Belgium Real property tax 1,689 1,686 (3,531,695)
Real property transfer tax 28 25 (68,577)
Inheritance tax 49 45 (75,363)
Gift tax 15 14 (45,970)
Mortgage registration duties 40 40 (119,424)
Tax on long-term saving 44 44 (66,663)
Cyprus Real property tax 1,098 1,098 (250,309)
Real property transfer tax 5 5 (688)
Mortgage registration duties 77 77 (13,824)
Gift provision 27 0
Estonia Real property tax 1,801 0
Finland Real property tax 8,536 8,536 (1,775,911)
France Real property tax 8,983 7,355 (13,935,691)
Real property transfer tax 288 270 (507,207)
Inheritance & gift tax 436 147 (252,843)
Net wealth tax 19,262 1,155 (342,915)
Germany Real property tax 2,895 2,894 (19,830,502)
Real property transfer tax 92 89 (628,066)
Inheritance & gift tax 363 27 (119,988)
Greece Real property tax 3,003 1,793 (3,038,838)
Emergency property tax 3,003 n/a
Real property transfer tax 11 11 (3,326)
Inheritance & gift tax 13 5 (4.134)
Hungary Real property transfer tax 69 69 (42,300)
Inheritance tax 47 5 (3,514)
Gift tax 28 1 (224)
Ireland Real property tax 3,968 3,917 (1,221,527)
Real property transfer tax 79 36 (9,153)
Inheritance & gift tax 96 17 (4,273)
Italy Real property tax 6,070 1,880 (5,693,335)
Real property transfer tax 77 77 (300,929)
Inheritance & gift tax 204 30 (86,236)
Net wealth tax 8,156 8,156 (24,694,121)
Luxembourg Real property tax 1,295 1,295 (157,609)
Real property transfer tax 41 41 (5,700)
Inheritance tax 37 8 (1,048)
Gift tax 10 1 (76)
Poland Real property tax 3,436 3,428 (13,375,016)
Real property transfer tax 51 50 (231,159)
Inheritance & gift tax 85 1 (1,785)
Portugal Real property tax 5,269 4,770 (2,704,456)
Real property transfer tax 25 21 (8,976)
Inheritance & gift tax (stamp duty) 158 57 (33,037)
Mortgage registration duties 59 59 (29,484)
Slovakia Real property tax 1,879 1,863 (1,594,174)
Slovenia Real property tax 2,066 224 (79,900)
Real property transfer tax 15 15 (4,350)
Inheritance & gift tax 49 2 (305)
Spain Real property tax 5,586 5,586 (15,234,706)
Real property transfer tax 77 77 (236,799)
Inheritance tax 150 112 (240,448)
Net wealth tax 10,150 1,133 (313,698)
  1. Note: Population weighted numbers in brackets.

  2. Source: Own calculations based on EUROMOD and micro-data from EM-HFCS.

Table 9
Simulated wealth tax revenues (in million euro per year), income reference year and 2017
Country Wealth tax Income reference year 2017
Simulated revenue External figure Ratio Simulated revenue External figure Ratio
Austria Real property tax 617.10 736.0 (1) 83.85% 617.10 771.0 (1) 80.04%
Real property transfer tax 272.20 790.0 (1) 34.46% 142.40 1,118 (1) 12.74%
Belgium Real property tax 3,218 3,478 (1) 92.52% 3,254 3,775 (1) 86.20%
Real property transfer tax 1,987 3,452 (3) 56.10% 1,977 4,065 (3) 48.63%
Inheritance tax 1,142 2,634 (3) 43.36% 1,035 2,365 (3) 43.76%
Gift tax 103.8 463.0 (3) 22.42% 83.49 567.0 (3) 43.76%
Mortgage registration duties 241 244.0 (4) 98.77% 233 122.0 (4) 190.98%
Tax on long-term saving 197.7 207.0 (3) 95.51% 158.2 382.0 (3) 41.41%
Cyprus Real property tax 94.49 100.8 (2) 93.74% 22.52 16.50 (2) 136.48%
Real property transfer tax, gift provision and mortgage registration duties 39.93 79.70 (2) 50.10% 22.28 99.0 (2) 22.51%
Estonia Real property tax 0 59.0 (1) 0% 0 59.0 (1) 0%
Finland Real property tax 718.40 623.0 (1) 115.31% 858.20 811.0 (1) 105.82%
France Real property tax 14,390 17,003 (1) 84.63% 15,470 18,465 (1) 83.78%
Real property transfer tax 6,088 10,143 (1) 60.0% 5,916 12,644 (1) 46.79%
Inheritance & gift tax 6,644 10,300 (1) 64.50% 8,533 12,188 (1) 70.01%
Net wealth tax 6,807 5,377 (1) 126.59% 8,148 4,837 (1) 168.45%
Germany Real property tax 6,795 4,951 (1) 137.2% 7,199 5,586 (1) 128.9%
Real property transfer tax 5,181 8,394 (1) 61.7% 6,899 13,139 (1) 52.5%
Inheritance & gift tax 1,496 4,633 (1) 32.3% 2,548 6,114 (1) 41.7%
Greece Real property tax & Emergency property tax 415.93 2,619 (2) 15.88% 1,042 3,095 (2) 33.67%
Real property transfer tax 37.77 275.0 (2) 13.73% 50.92 181.0 (2) 28.13%
Inheritance & gift tax 2.53 99.0 (2) 2.56% 6.63 115.0 (2) 5.77%
Hungary Real property transfer tax 54.52 265.23 (1) 20.56% 73.87 419.91 (1) 17.59%
Inheritance tax 4.49 16.14 (1) 27.82% 6.27 26.40 (1) 23.75%
Gift tax 0.13 3.87 (1) 3.36% 0.13 3.97 (1) 3.27%
Ireland Real property tax 172.6 1,478 (1) 11.70% 483.9 463.0 (2) 98.03%
Real property transfer tax 56.6 105.0 (2) 53.90% 68.8 301.0 (2) 22.86%
Inheritance & gift tax 191.4 282.0 (1) 67.87% 341.1 411.0 (1) 82.99%
Italy Real property tax 19,113 17,900 (5) 106.77% 15,675 14,400 (5) 108.85%
Real property transfer tax 504 n/a n/a 507 n/a n/a
Inheritance & gift tax 398 622 (5) 63.98% 404 557 (5) 72.53%
Net wealth tax 1,402 2,743 (5) 51.11% 1,412 2,743 (5) 51.47%
Luxembourg Real property tax 15.62 33.0 (1) 47.33% 15.62 38.0 (1) 41.11%
Real property transfer tax 72.97 164.0 (1) 44.49% 89.90 319.0 (1) 28.18%
Inheritance & gift tax 17.62 71.80 (2) 24.54% 22.96 85.90 (2) 26.73%
Poland Real property tax 1,578 4,428 (2) 35.64% 1,583 4,916 (2) 32.2%
Real property transfer tax 232 115 (2) 201.74% 238 101 (2) 235.64%
Inheritance & gift tax 167 1,093 (1) 15.3% 178 1,183 (1) 15.05%
Portugal Real property tax 1,452 1,140 (1) 127.37% 1,443 1,630 (1) 88.53%
Real property transfer tax 69.44 417.0 (1) 16.65% 68.98 841.0 (1) 8.20%
Inheritance & gift tax (stamp duty) 100.90 1,407 (2) 7.17% 320.40 1,430 (2) 22.41%
Mortgage registration duties 14.95 31.80 (1) 47.01% 14.95 32.28 (1) 46.31%
Slovakia Real property tax 39.96 105.0 (1) 38.06% 36.31 115.0 (1) 31.57%
Slovenia Real property tax 38.56 199.0 (1) 19.38% 41.86 211.0 (1) 19.84%
Real property transfer tax 34.98 23.0 (1) 152.09% 34.96 32.0 (1) 109.25%
Inheritance & gift tax 0.86 7.0 (1) 12.29% 0.94 8.0 (1) 11.75%
Spain Real property tax 10,780 9,685 (1) 111.31% 10,780 13,045 (1) 82.64%
Real property transfer tax 2,979 8,228 (1) 36.21% 4,826 8,585 (1) 56.21%
Inheritance tax 3,237 2,425 (1) 133.48% 3,732 2,709 (1) 137.76%
Net wealth tax n/a n/a n/a 1,490 1,348 (1) 110.53%
  1. Source: Own calculations based on EUROMOD and micro-data from EM-HFCS. (1) Tax Revenue Database (OECD (2017)); (2) Taxes in Europe Database (European Commission (2018)); (3) Received taxes and actual social insurance contributions by type (National Bank of Belgium (2017)); (4) Recent figures concerning the federally collected tax revenues (Federal Public Service Finance, 2017); (5) Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, various sources. In case of Hungary amounts in national currency have been converted to euros based on the average exchange rate in 2017 reported by the European Central Bank, namely €1=HUF 309.19. For Poland the exchange rate applied is equal to €1=4.2259 PLN.

Table 10
Redistributive effect of income and wealth taxes
Country Type of taxes Absolute redistributive effect Relative redistributive effect Average tax rate Kakwani progressivity index
Austria Income taxes + SIC 0.055 21.6% 25.4% 0.172
Wealth-related taxes 0.000 0.0% 0.6% 0.049
Belgium Income taxes + SIC 0.067 21.1% 35.0% 0.138
Wealth-related taxes -0.015 -4.7% 2.8% -0.095
Cyprus Income taxes + SIC 0.030 8.5% 11.2% 0.247
Wealth-related taxes -0.002 -0.6% 1.5% -0.102
Estonia Income taxes + SIC 0.024 5.6% 15.8% 0.133
Wealth-related taxes -0.011 -2.7% 3.5% -0.227
Finland Income taxes + SIC 0.051 18.0% 26.4% 0.150
Wealth-related taxes 0.000 0.0% 0.5% -0.040
France Income taxes + SIC 0.042 15.2% 21.0% 0.171
Wealth-related taxes -0.002 -0.7% 3.0% 0.199
Germany Income taxes + SIC 0.057 14.4% 29.3% 0.149
Wealth-related taxes 0.000 0.0% 0.7% 0.121
Greece Income taxes + SIC 0.015 4.2% 15.1% 0.104
Wealth-related taxes -0.001 -0.3% 0.4% -0.188
Hungary Income taxes + SIC 0.028 7.8% 28.5% 0.089
Wealth-related taxes -0.001 -0.3% 0.1% -0.051
Ireland Income taxes + SIC 0.081 19.7% 23.1% 0.279
Wealth-related taxes -0.003 -0.7% 0.5% -0.065
Italy Income taxes + SIC 0.048 14.1% 24.8% 0.148
Wealth-related taxes 0.002 0.6% 2.5% 0.090
Luxembourg Income taxes + SIC 0.067 18.5% 25.6% 0.200
Wealth-related taxes -0.001 -0.3% 0.5% 0.117
Poland Income taxes + SIC 0.005 1.5% 26.3% 0.025
Wealth-related taxes -0.004 -1.2% 0.9% -0.074
Portugal Income taxes + SIC 0.049 12.9% 17.0% 0.251
Wealth-related taxes -0.002 -0.5% 1.8% -0.081
Slovakia Income taxes + SIC 0.037 12.8% 20.4% 0.180
Wealth-related taxes 0.000 0.0% 0.1% -0.245
Slovenia Income taxes + SIC 0.060 18.5% 22.3% 0.225
Wealth-related taxes -0.001 -0.3% 0.5% -0.033
Spain Income taxes + SIC 0.014 3.5% 10.0% 0.134
Wealth-related taxes -0.007 -1.8% 2.9% -0.045
  1. Note: SIC= social insurance contributions.

Data and code availability

The analysis builds on data from the second wave of the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) available for scientific research upon registration through the European Central Bank and the EU-wide micro-simulation model EUROMOD (version H1.0). Details of policy codes are available from the authors upon request.

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