Working Paper

Taxation of Insurance

Vidar Christiansen
CESifo, Munich, 2017

CESifo Working Paper No. 6830

Should we exempt the services of insurance companies from VAT? Addressing this issue, the paper distinguishes between insurance against a general loss of resources and a loss of a specific commodity (property insurance). There is a case for exempting the former kind of insurance, but not the latter. Finally, comparing insurance through a producer warranty with insurance provided separately by an insurance company, it is conceivable that tax exemption of the latter will distort the choice of product quality.

CESifo Category
Public Finance
JEL Classification: H210