Ways of Redistributing Through the Activities of the Public Sector. WIFO Text Contribution to a Brochure

This summary of the actual WIFO redistribution study analyses the potential of redistribution by the state in Austria in 2010. Despite the high overall tax to GDP ratio of almost 42 percent, redistribution primarily takes place through public expenditures rather than through the revenue side. The households in the lower third of the income distribution face a gain in income of 60 percent due to the redistribution process. Households in the middle third experience a 5 percent, households in the upper third a 25 percent reduction in income. Overall, the households in the lower half of the income distribution benefit from the monetary public transfers and, especially, from the in-kind public welfare and public services.