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Diagnosis Murder: The Death of State Death Taxes

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  • Karen Smith Conway
  • Jonathan C. Rork

Abstract

Since 1976, more than 30 states have eliminated their "death" taxes and many others have reduced them. This unexplored case of interstate tax competition presents a unique opportunity to develop a new, more satisfying definition of competitor based on historical elderly migration patterns. Using data from 1967 onward, we outline the recent history of state death tax competitio n and present a spatial econometric analysis. Interstate tax competition is evident and grows stronger when using migration-based definitions of competitors. The article concludes with still more evidence of interstate tax competition--the recent movement by states to effectively revive their death taxes. (JEL H7, D7) Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Karen Smith Conway & Jonathan C. Rork, 2004. "Diagnosis Murder: The Death of State Death Taxes," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(4), pages 537-559, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecinqu:v:42:y:2004:i:4:p:537-559
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Wojciech Kopczuk, 2012. "Taxation of Intergenerational Transfers and Wealth," NBER Working Papers 18584, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Brülhart, Marius & Parchet, Raphaël, 2014. "Alleged tax competition: The mysterious death of bequest taxes in Switzerland," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 63-78.
    3. Levent Kutlu, 2022. "Spatial stochastic frontier model with endogenous weighting matrix," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1947-1968, October.
    4. Jonathan C. Rork & Gary A. Wagner, 2009. "Reciprocity and Competition: Is There a Connection?," Working Papers 2009/1, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    5. Ben Brewer & Karen Smith Conway & Jonathan C. Rork, 2022. "Do income tax breaks for the elderly affect economic growth?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(1), pages 7-27, January.
    6. Enrico Moretti & Daniel J. Wilson, 2023. "Taxing Billionaires: Estate Taxes and the Geographical Location of the Ultra-Wealthy," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 424-466, May.
    7. Marius Brülhart & Raphaël Parchet, 2010. "Alleged Tax Competition: The Mysterious Death of InheritanceTaxes in Switzerland," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 10.04, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    8. Ivo Bischoff & Nataliya Kusa, 2015. "Policy preferences for inheritance taxation," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201531, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    9. Ivo Bischoff & Nataliya Kusa, 2016. "Should wealth transfers be taxed? Citizens’ view on a fundamental question," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201636, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    10. Luca Salvadori & José María Durán-Cabré & Alejandro Esteller-Moré, 2012. "Regional Competition On Tax Administration," ERSA conference papers ersa12p184, European Regional Science Association.
    11. Jon Bakija & Joel Slemrod, 2004. "Do the Rich Flee from High State Taxes? Evidence from Federal Estate Tax Returns," NBER Working Papers 10645, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Alessandro Spiganti, 2020. "Inequality of opportunity, inequality of effort, and innovation," Economics Working Papers MWP 2020/02, European University Institute.
    13. Tosun, Mehmet S. & Williamson, Claudia R. & Yakovlev, Pavel, 2009. "Population Aging, Elderly Migration and Education Spending: Intergenerational Conflict Revisited," IZA Discussion Papers 4161, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Donald Bruce & John Deskins, 2012. "Can state tax policies be used to promote entrepreneurial activity?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 375-397, May.
    15. José Durán-Cabré & Alejandro Esteller-Moré & Luca Salvadori, 2015. "Empirical evidence on horizontal competition in tax enforcement," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(5), pages 834-860, October.
    16. Conway, Karen Smith & Rork, Jonathan C., 2012. "No Country for Old Men (Or Women) — Do State Tax Policies Drive Away the Elderly?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(2), pages 313-356, June.
    17. Hawley, Zackary & Rork, Jonathan C., 2015. "Competition and property tax limit overrides: Revisiting Massachusetts' Proposition 2½," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 93-107.
    18. Haiyong Zhang & Xinyu Wang, 2017. "Combined asymmetric spatial weights matrix with application to housing prices," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(13), pages 2337-2353, October.
    19. Qu, Xi & Lee, Lung-fei, 2015. "Estimating a spatial autoregressive model with an endogenous spatial weight matrix," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 184(2), pages 209-232.
    20. Conway, Karen Smith & Rork, Jonathan C., 2012. "The Genesis of Senior Income Tax Breaks," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 1043-1068, December.
    21. Karen Smith Conway & Jonathan C. Rork, 2008. "Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly," Public Finance Review, , vol. 36(5), pages 523-562, September.
    22. Gregory M. Randolph & Michael T. Tasto, 2012. "Special Interest Group Formation in the United States: Do Special Interest Groups Mirror the Success of their Spatial Neighbors?," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 119-134, July.
    23. Jonathan C. Rork & Gary A. Wagner, 2012. "Is There a Connection Between Reciprocity and Tax Competition?," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(1), pages 86-115, January.
    24. Jonathan C. Rork & Gary A. Wagner, 2009. "Reciprocity and Competition: Is There a Connection?," Working Papers 2009/1, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    25. Longjin Chen, 2021. "Tax enforcement interactions among Chinese provinces: A frontier and spatial analysis," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 332-348, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making

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