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Taxation and Internal Migration: Evidence from the Swiss Census Using Community-Level Variation in Income Tax Rates

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  • Liebig, Thomas

    () (OECD)

  • Puhani, Patrick A.

    () (University of Hannover)

  • Sousa-Poza, Alfonso

    () (University of Hohenheim)

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between income tax rate variation and internal migration for the unique case of Switzerland, whose system of determining tax rates primarily at the community level results in enough variation to permit analysis of their influence on migration. Specifically, using Swiss census data, we analyze migratory responses to tax rate variations for various groups defined by age, education, and nationality/residence permit. The results suggest that young Swiss college graduates are most sensitive to tax rate differences, but the estimated effects are not large enough to offset the revenue-increasing effect of a rise in tax rate. The migratory responses of foreigners and other age-education groups are even smaller, and reverse causation seems negligible.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2374.

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Length: 39 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2006
Date of revision:
Publication status: published in: Journal of Regional Science, 2007, 47 (4), 807-836
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2374

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Keywords: Switzerland; mobility; taxation; immigration; residence permit; visa status; foreigners;

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  1. CREMER, Helmuth & FOURGEAUD, Virginie & LEITE MONTEIRO, Manuel & MARCHAND, Maurice, 1995. "Mobility and Redistribution : A Survey," CORE Discussion Papers 1995066, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
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  6. Assaf Razin & Effraim Sadka & Phillip Swagel, 1998. "Tax Burden and Migration: A Political Economy Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 6734, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  7. Thomas Liebig & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2004. "Migration, Self-Selection and Income Inequality: An International Analysis," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 125-146, 02.
  8. Feld, Lars P. & Kirchgassner, Gebhard, 2001. "Income tax competition at the State and Local Level in Switzerland," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2-3), pages 181-213, April.
  9. Isabelle Joumard & Per Mathis Kongsrud, 2003. "Fiscal Relations across Government Levels," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 375, OECD Publishing.
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  13. Kirchgassner, Gebhard & Pommerehne, Werner W., 1996. "Tax harmonization and tax competition in the European Union: Lessons from Switzerland," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 351-371, June.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Lars P. Feld & Emmanuelle Reulier, 2005. "Strategic Tax Competition in Switzerland: Evidence from a Panel of the Swiss Cantons," CESifo Working Paper Series 1516, CESifo Group Munich.
  2. Hansjörg Blöchliger & José Maria Pinero Campos, 2011. "Tax Competition Between Sub-Central Governments," OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism 13, OECD Publishing.
  3. Giertz, Seth H. & Tosun, Mehmet S., 2012. "Migration Elasticities, Fiscal Federalism and the Ability of States to Redistribute Income," IZA Discussion Papers 6798, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  4. Mario Morger, 2013. "What Do Immigrants Value Most About Switzerland? Evidence of the Relative Importance of Income Taxes," CESifo Working Paper Series 4134, CESifo Group Munich.

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