Abstract:

One of the first decisions to be made in any work using microsimulation techniques is the choice of the most appropriate database for the study to be carried out. If one wants to simulate income tax reforms, it will be necessary to work with databases that contain sufficient information on the components of income and also on the personal and family circumstances of taxpayers. In this chapter we will describe the databases that have been used in Spain for this purpose, analysing their advantages and disadvantages. The following section describes the samples containing tax registers, while the third section is devoted to the main characteristics of the surveys used to simulate Spanish personal income tax. In the fourth section we analyse the main advantages and disadvantages of these databases, and end with some brief conclusions.

Reference:

Fuenmayor, A.; Granell, R. (2009): “Registros fiscales y encuestas: ventajas e inconvenientes”, en Picos; F. y Díaz de Sarralde, S. (coord.): Las reformas fiscales bajo el microscopio. Microsimulación fiscal en España: datos, metodología y aplicaciones. Madrid: Instituto de Estudios Fiscales.