Creating a Basefile for Stinmod

STINMOD is NATSEMís static microsimulation model of income taxes
and cash transfers. It is publicly available, runs on a personal computer
and can be accessed via a user-friendly interface. STINMOD can be used
to analyse the distributional impact of current taxñtransfer policy or to
estimate both the fiscal and distributional impacts of policy reform.
STINMOD applies the rules of income tax and government cash transfer
programs to a database of income units representing the Australian
population. This database, referred to here as the basefile, is a major
component of STINMOD and the methodology underlying the creation
of the basefile is the subject of this paper.
The paper provides an overview of the major changes to the STINMOD
basefile that have taken place since earlier papers on the basefile
methodology were written. It details the techniques used in each of the
three main steps that are required to build a STINMOD basefile.