Abstract

This paper is about the horizontal inequity of the Italian tax-benefit system and the joint impact of recent changes to the direct taxation system, family allowances and child benefits. The IT-EXEMPT static microsimulation model is employed to compare a scenario that replicates the tax-benefit system as of 2019 with a scenario that incorporates the changes to PIT and Bonus IRPEF in the period 2020-2022 and simulates the introduction of the Assegno unico e universale. The comparison focuses above all on the results of the cost-of-inequality decomposition approach put forward by Duclos et al. (2003). The classical horizontal inequity effect is broken down by population groups. The analysis shows a generalised reduction of horizontal inequity following the legislative changes. The categories that benefit most are high-income individuals, graduates, individuals whose household income is made up primarily of self-employment income or retirement income, individuals belonging to households without children, and those with four or more children among individuals with children.