This paper studies the effects of consumption tax reforms on prices and the time path of consumption spending in EU countries utilizing micro-level data on the monthly unit sales and prices of consumer durables. The identification strategy exploits the trading of identical products in multiple...

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the effectiveness of tax subsidies implemented by the German government as a measure to combat evasion of taxes on services purchased by private households. Based on a theoretical analysis of the choice between formal and informal provision of...

Using a panel of 97 mostly developing and transitional countries for the period 1990-2011, this paper explores fiscal implications of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Em-ploying robust difference-in-difference specifications as well as semi-parametric methods, we find that...

Many countries are currently debating whether to reduce or eliminate taxes on feminine hygiene products as a measure to address “period poverty” and promote gender equality. Legislators often reject proposals involving reforms of “tampon taxes” as the pass-through of sales taxes into...

We study the effects of consumption tax changes on prices and unit sales of durables utilizing micro-level product data. The results show that tax rate changes are fully shifted into prices. An anticipated tax rate change causes a temporary shift in unit sales shortly before implementation,...

This paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of subsidies for appliances with low energy consumption on the sales and prices of subsidized models and their non-subsidized substitutes. It explores a number of subsidy programs implemented by EU member states in recent years. The empirical...

Using a panel of 97 mostly developing and transitional countries for the period 1990-2011, this paper explores fiscal implications of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Employing robust difference-in-difference specifications as well as semi-parametric methods, we find that...

This paper studies seven rebate programs aiming at accelerating the replacement of energy-intensive household appliances. Based on a large product-level data set for several European countries, we study the effects on unit sales and prices of both subsidized and non-subsidized products. The...

This paper analyzes the effects of an income tax credit on evasion of the value-added tax (VAT). Based on the individual tax returns of the universe of VAT payers in Germany our analysis shows that harnessing incentives of consumers as third-parties in the last VAT stage through tax credits...

This paper analyzes the effects of an income tax credit for hard-to-tax consumer services on evasion of the value-added-tax (VAT). Based on the individual tax files of the universe of VAT payers in Germany, our analysis shows that harnessing incentives for consumers through tax credits fosters...