Encouraging Savings through Tax-Preferred Accounts

To boost their domestic saving rate, many OECD countries have introduced savings accounts that offer tax advantages, called tax-preferred saving accounts. This report describes and analyses various tax-preferred savings accounts, excluding pension-related accounts, in a cross-section of 11 OECD countries. Based on a comparison of results, the report then answers the following questions: (1) which income groups benefit the most from these accounts; (2) to what extent do these accounts generate additional savings; and (3) how much tax revenue is foregone due to these accounts. Based on the findings, the report also suggests measures on how to improve the effectiveness of tax-preferred savings accounts. For a complete list of titles that have been published in the Tax Policy Studies series, please see www.oecd.org/ctp/taxpolicystudies.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Staff is the author of 'Encouraging Savings through Tax-Preferred Accounts ', published 2007 under ISBN 9789264031357 and ISBN 9264031359.