RETRAITE, ÉPARGNE ET FISCALITÉ :

In many countries, retirement saving entitles to tax breaks. This paper examines thearguments for favourable tax treatment for retirement saving, from the point ofview of both efficiency and equity. This issue is part of a broader debate on the roleof taxation in the choice between consumption and saving. First, the paperexamines whether saving in general should entitle to tax breaks. It then looks at theparticular case of saving for retirement, and examines the theoretical arguments infavour of differentiated taxation for different types of saving. Lastly, it ponders thelegitimacy of the tax breaks for which retirees are eligible.The general argument the paper develops is that, while there are few theoreticaljustifications for granting tax breaks to saving in general, there are reasons forallowing saving for retirement to qualify for favourable tax treatment. However, thetax breaks for which retirees are eligible in France seem unjustified, on the groundsof both efficiency and inter-generational and intra-generational equity.