La misura della pressione fiscale in rapporto al prodotto interno lordo in luogo del prodotto interno netto:un capitolo dell'illusione fiscale (The Measurement of ‘Fiscal Burden’ on GDP instead of on National Net Value Added Produced: ... )

Abstract

The Measurement of ‘Fiscal Burden’ on GDP instead of on National Net Value Added Produced: A Chapter in Fiscal Illusion The work calls attention to a major macroeconomic fiscal illusion: that arising from the current official practice of expressing the main fiscal indicators, and particularly the tax burden, as a percentage of GDP rather than NDPF (Net Domestic Product at Factor Costs). This methodology causes a systematic undervaluation of the tax burden, by something between 25% (Sweden and Austria) and 15% (Switzerland). Correctly measured, the tax burden in most European countries is above 50% and in the Nordic countries above 65%, or close to it! Thus, tax payers are deceived about the true cost and size of the public economy. GDP’s origin and widespread adoption is examined as well as the development of the notion of national income adopted to assess the tax burden. JEL Codes: H20, H21

Keywords

• GDP
• National Net Value Added Produced
• Tax burden
• Public economy