Distribution of Income and Taxes in Slovenia and Croatia

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to estimate the redistributive effects of personal income tax (PIT) in Slovenia and Croatia. The decomposition of the Gini coefficient developed by Aronson, Johnson & Lambert reveals only a limited difference between potential and actual redistribution, with this loss being a consequence of the different tax treatment of taxpayers with equal pre-tax income. The results also suggest that Croatia experiences greater income inequality among taxpayers than Slovenia. Another decomposition of inequality measure indicates that some types of income — especially wages — contribute a constant and high proportion to the overall inequality seen in both countries during the period examined.