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Culture and Tax Structures

Author

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  • Tobias König
  • Andreas Wagener

Abstract

We argue that societies with a stronger tendency towards postmaterialist life goals tilt the tax structure towards personal income taxes and away from corporate taxation. We provide empirical evidence for this correlation in OECD countries. To address endogeneity issues we then use an epidemiological approach and employ the cultural values of second-generation immigrants to the US as an instrument for the degree of postmaterialism in their ancestral countries. Estimations with this approach re-confirm that personal taxes are higher, both in absolute and relative terms, in more postmaterialist countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Tobias König & Andreas Wagener, 2012. "Culture and Tax Structures," CESifo Working Paper Series 3748, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_3748
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Vladim'ir Hol'y & Tom'av{s} Evan, 2021. "The Role of a Nation's Culture in the Country's Governance: Stochastic Frontier Analysis," Papers 2102.05411, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2021.
    2. Lars P. Feld & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2012. "Die Politische Ökonomik der Besteuerung," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 13(1-2), pages 116-136, February.
    3. Nicolae-Bogdan IANC & Thierry BAUDASSE, 2021. "How can culture affect taxation? A postmaterialism value approach," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2848, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    4. Evan, Tomáš & Holý, Vladimír, 2023. "Cultural diversity and its impact on governance," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax structure; taxation; social values; culture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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