IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/itaxpf/v21y2014i2p272-297.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revenue functions and Dupuit curves for indirect taxes with cross-border shopping

Author

Listed:
  • Jørgen Aasness
  • Odd Nygård

Abstract

Norway imposes some of the highest tax rates on alcoholic beverages and tobacco in the world, making, e.g., cross-border shopping an attractive activity for Norwegians. In light of this fact, we pose the question: Could we increase the total tax revenue from indirect taxes by decreasing tax rates on, e.g., spirits in Norway? When using an empirically based consumer model including cross-border shopping, tax-free shopping, and smuggling, we do find revenue curves implying total tax revenue maximizing tax rates. But we also find that these tax rates are always higher than the observed tax rates, i.e., suggesting that the answer to our question is no. In addition, we compare our results to a closed economy setting without cross-border shopping, etc. We find that the existence of cross-border shopping, etc. affects the shape of the revenue curves somewhat, although not dramatically. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Jørgen Aasness & Odd Nygård, 2014. "Revenue functions and Dupuit curves for indirect taxes with cross-border shopping," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 21(2), pages 272-297, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:21:y:2014:i:2:p:272-297
    DOI: 10.1007/s10797-013-9268-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10797-013-9268-x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10797-013-9268-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Silvia Fedeli & Francesco Forte, 2009. "The Laffer effects of a program of deregulation cum detaxation: the Italian reform of labour contracts in the period 1997–2001," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 211-232, June.
    2. Michael A. Nelson, 2002. "Using Excise Taxes to Finance State Government: Do Neighboring State Taxation Policy and Cross‐Border Markets Matter?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 731-752.
    3. Wildasin, David E., 1988. "Nash equilibria in models of fiscal competition," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 229-240, March.
    4. Lockwood, Ben, 1993. "Commodity tax competition under destination and origin principles," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 141-162, September.
    5. Jack Mintz & Henry Tulkens, 2006. "Commodity Tax Competition Between Member States of a Federation: Equilibrium and Efficiency," Springer Books, in: Parkash Chander & Jacques Drèze & C. Knox Lovell & Jack Mintz (ed.), Public goods, environmental externalities and fiscal competition, chapter 0, pages 449-489, Springer.
    6. Lockwood, Ben, 2001. "Tax competition and tax co-ordination under destination and origin principles: a synthesis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 279-319, August.
    7. Hindriks, Jean & Myles, Gareth D., 2013. "Intermediate Public Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262018691, December.
    8. Devereux, M.P. & Lockwood, B. & Redoano, M., 2007. "Horizontal and vertical indirect tax competition: Theory and some evidence from the USA," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(3-4), pages 451-479, April.
    9. Michael Keen & Yitae Kim & Ricardo Varsano, 2008. "The “flat tax(es)”: principles and experience," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 15(6), pages 712-751, December.
    10. Jørgen Aasness & Erik Biørn & Terje Skjerpen, 2003. "Distribution of preferences and measurement errors in a disaggregated expenditure system," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 6(2), pages 374-400, December.
    11. Kanbur, Ravi & Keen, Michael, 1993. "Jeux Sans Frontieres: Tax Competition and Tax Coordination When Countries Differ in Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 877-892, September.
    12. Heijman, W.J.M. & van Ophem, J.A.C., 2005. "Willingness to pay tax: The Laffer curve revisited for 12 OECD countries," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 714-723, October.
    13. Søren Bo Nielsen, 2001. "A Simple Model of Commodity Taxation and Cross‐border Shopping," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 103(4), pages 599-623, December.
    14. You-Qiang Wang, 1999. "Commodity Taxes under Fiscal Competition: Stackelberg Equilibrium and Optimality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 974-981, September.
    15. Ohsawa, Yoshiaki, 1999. "Cross-border shopping and commodity tax competition among governments," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 33-51, January.
    16. Rork, Jonathan C., 2003. "Coveting Thy Neighbors' Taxation," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 56(4), pages 775-787, December.
    17. Aasness, Jorgen & Biorn, Erik & Skjerpen, Terje, 1993. "Engel Functions, Panel Data, and Latent Variables," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(6), pages 1395-1422, November.
    18. Hansson, Asa & Stuart, Charles, 2003. "Peaking of fiscal sizes of government," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 669-684, November.
    19. Knut R. Wangen & Erik Biørn, 2001. "Individual Heterogeneity and Price Responses in Tobacco Consumption: A Two-Commodity Analysis of Unbalanced Panel Data," Discussion Papers 294, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    20. Blackorby, Charles & Boyce, Richard & Russell, R Robert, 1978. "Estimation of Demand Systems Generated by the Gorman Polar Form: A Generalization of the S-Branch Utility Tree," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(2), pages 345-363, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sanz-Sanz, José Félix, 2022. "A full-fledged analytical model for the Laffer curve in personal income taxation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 795-811.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jørgen Aasness & Odd Erik Nygård, 2009. "Revenue functions and Dupuit curves for indirect taxes with cross-border shopping," Discussion Papers 573, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    2. Jan Jacobs & Jenny Ligthart & Hendrik Vrijburg, 2010. "Consumption tax competition among governments: Evidence from the United States," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 17(3), pages 271-294, June.
    3. Paizs, László, 2009. "Gázolaj-jövedékiadó verseny az Európai Unióban [Fiscal competition on the market for diesel fuel in the European Union]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(3), pages 216-238.
    4. Aiura, Hiroshi & Ogawa, Hikaru, 2013. "Unit tax versus ad valorem tax: A tax competition model with cross-border shopping," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 30-38.
    5. Braid, Ralph M., 2013. "State and local tax competition in a spatial model with sales taxes and residential property taxes," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 57-67.
    6. Leonzio Rizzo, 2006. "Le inefficienze della competizione fiscale: una rassegna dei principali modelli teorici," Economia politica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 89-120.
    7. Ben Lockwood & Giuseppe Migali, 2009. "Did The Single Market Cause Competition in Excise Taxes? Evidence From EU Countries," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(536), pages 406-429, March.
    8. Georg Hirte & Stefan Tscharaktschiew, 2015. "Optimal Fuel Taxes and Heterogeneity of Cities," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 35(2), pages 173-209, October.
    9. repec:dgr:rugsom:07008 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Birg, Laura, 2018. "Cross-border or Online - Tax Competition with Mobile Consumers under Destination and Origin Principle," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181645, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. David R. Agrawal & David E. Wildasin, 2019. "Sales Taxation, Spatial Agglomeration, and the Internet," CESifo Working Paper Series 7742, CESifo.
    12. Agrawal, David R. & Mardan, Mohammed, 2019. "Will destination-based taxes be fully exploited when available? An application to the U.S. commodity tax system," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 128-143.
    13. Andrés Leal & Julio López-Laborda & Fernando Rodrigo, 2010. "Cross-Border Shopping: A Survey," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 16(2), pages 135-148, May.
    14. Amrita Dhillon & Myrna Wooders & Ben Zissimos, 2007. "Tax Competition Reconsidered," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 9(3), pages 391-423, June.
    15. Pascal Belan & Stéphane Gauthier, 2008. "Commodity Tax Competition and the VAT Base in the European Union," Working Papers 2008-17, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    16. Keuschnigg, Christian & Loretz, Simon & Winner, Hannes, 2014. "Tax Competition and Tax Coordination in the European Union: A Survey," Working Papers in Economics 2014-4, University of Salzburg.
    17. Lockwood, Ben, 2001. "Tax competition and tax co-ordination under destination and origin principles: a synthesis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 279-319, August.
    18. Boadway, Robin & Tremblay, Jean-François, 2012. "Reassessment of the Tiebout model," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1063-1078.
    19. Pascal Belan & Stéphane Gauthier, 2009. "Commodity Tax Competition with Constrained Taxes," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 11(4), pages 653-665, August.
    20. Kojun Hamada, 2022. "Commodity tax competition and cross-border shopping in a tripoint model," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 837-862, June.
    21. Kaisa Kotakorpi, 2009. "Paternalism and Tax Competition," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(1), pages 125-149, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Revenue functions; Indirect taxes; Excise taxes; Alcohol; Tobacco; Cross-border shopping; Smuggling; Tax-free shopping; Complete demand systems; Consumer behavior; Laffer curves; Dupuit curves; D6; D12; H2; H31;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:21:y:2014:i:2:p:272-297. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.