We analyse the distributional impact of lowering social security contributions and compensating the revenue loss by an increase in indirect taxes. We empirically assess the distributional consequences of this shift by using two Belgian microsimulation models: MODEacute;TEacute; for the tax benefit...

The role of indirect taxes in social policy is investigated by1) comparing the distributional pattern of indirect taxes with the one of personal income taxes and social security contributions;2) calculating the indirect tax liabilities for recipients of social benefits;3) assessing the...