Paying income tax after a natural disaster

Abstract

We investigate the effects of a climatic shock on individuals’ tax deduction and tax payable patterns, alongside their income dynamics. Using individual-level annual tax return data and exploiting the 2010–2011 Queensland Floods in Australia as a natural experiment, we find that the floods affect different income groups differently. They also lead to persistent higher tax deductions for high-income taxpayers. For the population at large, we detect spikes in certain tax deduction items that lasted longer than the income shock. Overall, our findings uncover discernible changes in tax deduction patterns following floods.