本文藉由2001年至2015年遺產稅申報資料, 分析台灣財富分配不 均及財富組成情形。研究結果發現財富分配不均程度近年來之逐漸 增加, 與金融資產愈趨集中於富人相關;此外, 財富集中的分配不均 情形, 不僅發生在貧富之間,單就富人族群,也可觀察到財富集中化 的現象。在財富組成部分則可觀察到, 相較於不動產與其他非金融 資產, 國人漸趨偏好金融資產,其原因可能在於,遺產稅有效稅率下 降, 減少持有不動產以規避租稅的誘因。雖然金融資產占財富總額 比例增加, 但土地仍為國人主要持有財產。本文另外以迴歸模型探 討遺產稅有效稅率與財富組成的關係, 其結果顯示, 遺產稅有效稅 率對於土地占財富總額比例為顯著正相關,對於存款與投資占財富 總額比例則為顯著負相關, 代表個體面對較高的租稅負擔, 傾向利 用稅制之下土地評價低估的方式獲取租稅利益。稅制不但扭曲個人 對於資產種類的選擇,也影響個體資產配置的決策。

Based on estate tax returns from 2001 to2015 and using the estate multiplier method to blow up the sample of decedents to represent the number of the living, this paper analyzes wealth inequality and wealth composition in Taiwan. The results suggest that the degree of wealth inequality has gradually increased in recent years, in accordance with the observation that financial assets became more concentrated. In addition, the concentration of wealth and the resulting inequality is not only between the rich and the poor; it also happens within the rich group. At the same time, the results suggest a tendency to hold more financial assets as opposed to real estate and other non-financial assets. One of the possible explanations is that the decreasing effective tax rate of the estate tax reduces incentives to hold real estates for tax benefits. Despite the increase in the proportion of financial assets, land is still the major choice of property holding as measured by the ratio of wealth. The second part of the study uses regression analyses to explore the relationship between the effective tax rate (of the estate tax) and the composition of wealth. Results show that the effective estate tax rate is positively correlated with the ratio of land to total wealth, and negatively correlated with the ratio of deposits and investment. These results show that when facing a higher tax burden, individuals tend to take advantage of the undervaluing of land in the current tax system to obtain tax benefits. This adds to existing evidence that taxes distorts individuals’ choice of asset types, and affects individuals’ decisions on asset allocation.