Because modern welfare states collect a very large share of GDP as tax revenues, tax systems have a crucial role in economic performance. Taxation is also needed to solve environmental and health problems and to alleviate inequalities. This research programme studies all these features of the tax system using versatile methods in economics: statistical analyses with large administrative data sets and complementary survey data, randomized experiments, as well as new theoretical modelling. The programme challenges many earlier findings on the impact of taxation on firm and individual behaviour, leading to fundamentally influential policy recommendations on the design of a good tax system. The research programme is joint work between Finnish institutions conducting high-quality tax research, as well as with international top researchers in the field.

2022

2024