This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Taxation and Household Portfolio Composition: U.S. Evidence from the 1980s and 1990s

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
James M. Poterba
Andrew Samwick

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between household marginal income tax rates, the set of assets that households own, and the portfolio shares accounted for by each of these assets. It analyzes data from the 1983, 1989, 1992, and 1995 Surveys of Consumer Finances and develops a new algorithm for imputing federal marginal tax rates to households in these surveys. The empirical findings suggest that a household's marginal tax rate has an important effect its asset allocation decisions. The probability that a household owns tax-advantaged assets is strongly related to its tax rate on ordinary income. In addition, the amount of investment through tax-deferred accounts such as 401(k) plans and IRAs is an increasing function of the household's marginal tax rate. Holdings of corporate stock, which is taxed less heavily than interest bearing assets, and of tax-exempt bonds are also increasing in the household's marginal tax rate. Holdings of heavily taxed assets, such as corporate bonds and interest-bearing accounts, decline as a share of wealth as a household's marginal tax rate increases.

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.

File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w7392.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html.

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 7392.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Oct 1999
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7392

Note: AG AP 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: ().

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
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.:
  1. Feenberg, D.R. & Poterba, J.M., 1991. "Which Households Own Municipal Bonds? Evidence from Tax Returns," Working papers 588, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
  2. Joel M. Dickson & John B. Shoven, 1995. "Taxation and Mutual Funds: An Investor Perspective," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 9, pages 151-180 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  3. Agell, Jonas & Edin, Per-Anders, 1990. " Marginal Taxes and the Asset Portfolios of Swedish Households," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 92(1), pages 47-64.
  4. Hubbard, Robert Glenn, 1985. "Personal Taxation, Pension Wealth, and Portfolio Composition," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(1), pages 53-60, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. James M. Poterba & Andrew A. Samwick, 1997. "Household Portfolio Allocation Over the Life Cycle," NBER Working Papers 6185, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Leape, Jonathan I., 1987. "Taxes and transaction costs in asset market equilibrium," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 1-20, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. King, Mervyn A. & Leape, Jonathan I., 1998. "Wealth and portfolio composition: Theory and evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 155-193, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. James M. Poterba & Steven F. Venti, 1998. "Implications of Rising Personal Retirement Saving," NBER Chapters, in: Frontiers in the Economics of Aging, pages 125-172 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Feldstein, Martin S, 1976. "Personal Taxation and Portfolio Composition: An Econometric Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(4), pages 631-50, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Auerbach, Alan J & King, Mervyn A, 1983. "Taxation, Portfolio Choice, and Debt-Equity Ratios: A General Equilibrium Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 98(4), pages 587-609, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. James M. Poterba & David A. Wise, 1998. "Individual Financial Decisions in Retirement Saving Plans and the Provision of Resources for Retirement," NBER Chapters, in: Privatizing Social Security, pages 363-401 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-75, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

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.)

  1. Sule Alan & Kadir Atalay & Thomas F. Crossley & Sung-Hee Jeon, 2009. "New Evidence on Taxes and Portfolio Choice," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 245, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. John Mullahy & Stephanie A. Robert, 2008. "No Time to Lose? Time Constraints and Physical Activity," NBER Working Papers 14513, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Arie Kapteyn & Constantijn Panis, 2005. "Institutions and Saving for Retirement: Comparing the United States,Italy, and the Netherlands," NBER Chapters, in: Analyses in the Economics of Aging, pages 281-316 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  4. Arthur van Soest & Arie Kaptey, 2006. "Savings, Portfolio Choice, and Retirement Expectations," Working Papers wp119, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  5. Burkhard Heer & Bernd Suessmuth, 2003. "Inflation and Wealth Distribution," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? There are over 21000 authors registered on RePEc Author Service.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-25.


This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.