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The Optimal Elasticity of Taxable Income

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Author Info
Joel Slemrod
Wojciech Kopczuk

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Abstract

The strength of the behavioral response to a tax rate change depends on the environment individuals operate in, and may be manipulated by instruments controlled by the government. We first derive a measure of the social benefit to affecting this elasticity. The paper then examines this effect in the solution to the optimal income taxation problem when such an instrument is available, first in a general model and then in an example when the government chooses the income tax base.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7922.

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Date of creation: Sep 2000
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7922

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Kaplow, Louis, 1990. "Optimal taxation with costly enforcement and evasion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 221-236, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Cremer, Helmuth & Gahvari, Firouz, 1996. "Tax evasion and the optimum general income tax," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 235-249, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Robert A Moffitt & Mark Wilhelm, 2000. "Taxation and the Labor Supply - Decisions of the Affluent," Economics Working Paper Archive 414, The Johns Hopkins University,Department of Economics.
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  4. Martin Feldstein, 1999. "Tax Avoidance And The Deadweight Loss Of The Income Tax," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(4), pages 674-680, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Lucas, Robert Jr, 1976. "Econometric policy evaluation: A critique," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 19-46, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Joel Slemrod, 1998. "A General Model of the Behavioral Response to Taxation," NBER Working Papers 6582, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Cremer, Helmuth & Gahvari, Firouz, 1993. "Tax evasion and optimal commodity taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 261-275, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Cremer, Helmuth & Gahvari, Firouz, 1994. " Tax Evasion, Concealment and the Optimal Linear Income Tax," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 96(2), pages 219-39.
  9. Mayshar, Joram, 1991. " Taxation with Costly Administration," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 93(1), pages 75-88.
  10. Yitzhaki, Shlomo, 1979. "A Note on Optimal Taxation and Administrative Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(3), pages 475-80, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Wilson, John Douglas, 1989. "On the Optimal Tax Base for Commodity Taxation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 1196-1206, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Feldstein, Martin S, 1972. "Distributional Equity and the Optimal Structure of Public Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 32-36, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Slemrod, Joel, 1994. "Fixing the leak in Okun's bucket optimal tax progressivity when avoidance can be controlled," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 41-51, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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. Nada, Eissa & Giertz, Seth, 2006. "Trends in High Incomes and Behavioral Responses to Taxation: Evidence from Executive Compensation and Statistics of Income Data," MPRA Paper 17604, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  2. Blomquist, Sören & Selin, Håkan, 2008. "Hourly Wage Rate and Taxable Labor Income Responsiveness to Changes in Marginal Tax Rates," Working Paper Series, Center for Fiscal Studies 2009:1, Uppsala University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Martin Besfamille & Cecilia Parlatore Siritto, 2009. "Modernization of Tax Administrations and Optimal Fiscal Policies," Department of Economics Working Papers 2009-07, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. [Downloadable!]
  4. Nobuo Akai & Motohiro Sato, 2005. "leadership meets soft budget," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-391, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo. [Downloadable!]
  5. Hansson, Åsa, 2004. "Taxpayers Responsiveness to Tax Rate Changes and Implications for the Cost of Taxation," Working Papers 2004:5, Lund University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  6. Giertz, Seth, 2008. "Taxable Income Responses to 1990s Tax Acts: Further Explorations," MPRA Paper 17602, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  7. 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)
  8. Giertz, Seth, 2006. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income During the 1990s: A Sensitivity Analysis," MPRA Paper 17603, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  9. Salvatore Barbaro & Jens Suedekum, 2009. "Voting on income tax exemptions," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 239-253, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. William Congdon & Jeffrey R. Kling & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2009. "Behavioral Economics and Tax Policy," NBER Working Papers 15328, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Selén, Jan, 2002. "Taxable Income Responses to Tax Changes - A Panel Analysis of the 1990/91 Swedish Reform," Working Paper Series 177, Trade Union Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  12. Sören Blomquist & Håkan Selin, 2009. "Hourly Wage Rate and Taxable Labor Income Responsiveness to Changes in Marginal Tax Rates," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  13. Petia Topalova & Prachi Mishra & Arvind Subramanian, 2007. "Policies, Enforcement, and Customs Evasion: Evidence from India," IMF Working Papers 07/60, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  14. Giertz, Seth, 2005. "A Sensitivity Analysis of the Elasticity of Taxable Income," MPRA Paper 17601, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  15. Åsa Hansson, 2007. "Taxpayers' responsiveness to tax rate changes and implications for the cost of taxation in Sweden," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 563-582, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Emmanuel Saez, 2004. "Reported Incomes and Marginal Tax Rates, 1960-2000: Evidence and Policy Implications," NBER Working Papers 10273, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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