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The effect of anticipated tax changes on intertemporal labor supply and the realization of taxable income

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Adam Looney
Monica Singhal

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Abstract

We use anticipated changes in tax rates associated with changes in family composition to estimate intertemporal labor supply elasticities and elasticities of taxable income with respect to the net-of-tax wage rate. A number of provisions of the tax code are tied explicitly to child age and dependent status. Changes in the ages of children can thus affect marginal tax rates through phase-in or phase-out provisions of tax credits or by shifting individuals across tax brackets. We identify the response of labor and income to these tax changes by comparing families who experienced a tax rate change to families who had a similar change in dependents but no resulting tax rate change. A primary advantage of our approach is that the changes are anticipated and therefore should not cause re-evaluations of lifetime income. The estimates of substitution effects should consequently not be confounded by life-cycle income effects. The empirical design also allows us to compare similar families and can be used to estimate elasticities across the income distribution. In particular, we provide estimates for low and middle income families. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we estimate an intertemporal elasticity of family labor earnings close to one for families earning between $30,000 and $75,000. Our estimates for families in the EITC phase-out range are lower but still substantial. Estimates from the IRS-NBER individual tax panel are consistent with the SIPP estimates. Tests using alternate control groups and simulated "placebo" tax schedules support our identifying assumptions. The high-end estimates suggest substantial efficiency costs of taxation.

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Paper provided by Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.) in its series Finance and Economics Discussion Series with number 2005-44.

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Date of creation: 2005
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2005-44

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  25. Guido W. Imbens & Donald B. Rubin & Bruce Sacerdote, 1999. "Estimating the Effects of Unearned Income on Labor Supply, Earnings, Savings, and Consumption: Evidence from a Survey of Lottery Players," NBER Working Papers 7001, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  28. Naomi E. Feldman & Peter Katuscak, 2006. "Should the Average Tax Rate Be Marginalized?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp304, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economic Institute, Prague. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
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  1. Raj Chetty, 2008. "Is the Taxable Income Elasticity Sufficient to Calculate Deadweight Loss? The Implications of Evasion and Avoidance," NBER Working Papers 13844, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Emmanuel Saez & Joel B. Slemrod & Seth H. Giertz, 2009. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review," NBER Working Papers 15012, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Jane K. Dokko, 2008. "The effect of taxation on lifecycle labor supply: results from a quasi-experiment," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2008-24, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
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