In this paper we explore the efficiency gains from the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and prospective tax reforms, separating out the intersectoral and intertemporal efficiency consequences. To assess these effects, we employ a general equilibrium model that considers the effects of taxes on the allocation of capital across industries, assets, sectors, and time. We find that the 1986 tax reform yielded only a small improvement in the intersectoral allocation of capital because the beneficial effects from its more uniform treatment of capital within the business sector are largely offset by adverse effects stemming from increased tax disparities between the business and housing sectors. The intertemporal efficiency effects of the reform, in contrast, are significant and negative. Hence the overall efficiency impact of the reform is negative as well. Our results indicate that the economic margins offering the greatest scope for efficiency gains are different from those that received the most attention under the 1986 tax reform. While much of the 1986 reform concentrated on reducing tax disparities within the business sector, much larger efficiency gains would result from reducing tax disparities between the business and housing sectors and from general reductions in effective marginal tax rates on capital.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
3559.
Length: Date of creation: Dec 1990 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3559
Note: PE Contact details of provider: Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. Phone: 617-868-3900 Email: Web page: http://www.nber.org More information through EDIRC
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)