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Optimal Progressive Capital Income Taxes in the Infinite Horizon Model

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Emmanuel Saez

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Abstract

This paper analyzes optimal progressive capital income taxation in an infinite horizon model where individuals differ only through their initial wealth. We show that, in that context, progressive taxation is a much more powerful and efficient tool to redistribute wealth than linear taxation on which previous literature has focused. We consider progressive capital income tax schedules taking a simple two-bracket form with an exemption bracket at the bottom and a single marginal tax rate above a time varying exemption threshold. Individuals are taxed until their wealth is reduced down to the exemption threshold. When the intertemportal elasticity of substitution is not too large and the top tail of the initial wealth distribution is infinite and thick enough, the optimal exemption threshold converges to a finite limit. As a result, the optimal tax system drives all the large fortunes down a finite level and produces a truncated long-run wealth distribution. A number of numerical simulations illustrate the theoretical result.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 9046.

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Date of creation: Jul 2002
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9046

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
H62 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Deficit; Surplus

References listed on IDEAS
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  3. Kotlikoff, Laurence J & Summers, Lawrence H, 1981. "The Role of Intergenerational Transfers in Aggregate Capital Accumulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 706-32, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Chamley, Christophe, 1986. "Optimal Taxation of Capital Income in General Equilibrium with Infinite Lives," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(3), pages 607-22, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Andrew Atkeson & V.V. Chari & Patrick J. Kehoe, 1999. "Taxing capital income: a bad idea," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, issue Sum, pages 3-17. [Downloadable!]
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  19. Feldstein, Martin S, 1978. "The Welfare Cost of Capital Income Taxation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(2), pages S29-51, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. Aiyagari, S Rao, 1995. "Optimal Capital Income Taxation with Incomplete Markets, Borrowing Constraints, and Constant Discounting," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(6), pages 1158-75, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. Ordover, J. A. & Phelps, E. S., 1979. "The concept of optimal taxation in the overlapping-generations model of capital and wealth," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(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. Juan Carlos Conesa & Dirk Krueger, 2005. "On the Optimal Progressivity of the Income Tax Code," CFS Working Paper Series 2005/10, Center for Financial Studies. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Conesa, Juan Carlos & Kitao, Sagiri & Krüger, Dirk, 2006. "Taxing Capital? Not a Bad Idea After All!," CEPR Discussion Papers 5929, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Marco Cagetti & Mariacristina De Nardi, 2004. "Taxation, entrepreneurship and wealth," Working Papers 632, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. CREMER, Helmuth & PESTIEAU, Pierre, 2004. "The tax treatment of intergenerational wealth transfers," CORE Discussion Papers 2004062, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE). [Downloadable!]
  5. Helmuth Cremer, Pierre Pestieau, 2003. "Wealth Transfer Taxation: A Survey," Economics Working Paper Archive 394, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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