Progressivity and redistributive power of income tax on wage earners in El Salvador: a microsimulation analysis

This work analyses the effects of wage earners’ income tax on vertical equity and income distribution in El Salvador, by assessing the two most recent changes in income tax —the 2011 reform and the 2015 amendment— in light of a comparative methodology based on indices of tax progressivity and redistributive power. The impact of these measures is estimated using microsimulation techniques. The results show that the tax structure in 2017 is weakly progressive and has no impact on income distribution in El Salvador. On the contrary, the differential treatment that the tax system affords to high incomes undermines any possible effect of the income tax on vertical equity and income distribution.