Le Tax Shift a-t-il atteint ses objectifs en matière d’emploi et de chômage ?

Abstract

In 2014, the situation of Belgian public finances is deplorable and no longer meets the requirements imposed by the European Commission. The Tax Shift is therefore being implemented against the unfavourable background of Belgium's economic and financial magnitudes, as denounced by the OECD in its report in 2006. The Belgian tax burden on labour, measured by the tax wedge and the implicit tax rate, is by far the highest among the European Union member countries. The Tax Shift reform has made it possible to shift from fiscal and parafiscal levies on labour to other forms of financing, namely other tax bases such as consumption and capital. This paper has assessed the Tax Shift measures in terms of their ability to stimulate the labour market through both supply and demand. The effects of this reform on the evolution of employment and unemployment rates were analysed. The aim of this work was to understand, via the major employment objective, how the Tax Shift influences unemployment in Belgium.