Bracket Creep and its Effect on Tax Receipts Since 2000

Bracket creep has recently been at the focus of economic and tax debates. Estimates based on the national accounts and tax statistics show that overall progression made for about € 2 billion in additional revenues from wage tax between 2009 and 2013. In other words, wage tax receipts were higher by € 2 billion in 2013 than would have been the case if receipts had grown proportionally rather than progressively. Of this sum, three quarters are due to inflation and thus the effect of bracket creep.