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Rethinking capital and wealth taxation

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  • Thomas Piketty
  • Emmanuel Saez
  • Gabriel Zucman

Abstract

This paper reviews recent developments in the theory and practice of optimal capital taxation. We emphasize three main rationales for capital taxation. First, the frontier between capital and labour income flows is often fuzzy, thereby lending support to a broad-based, comprehensive income tax. Next, the very notions of income and consumption flows are difficult to define and measure for top wealth holders where capital gains due to asset price effects dwarf ordinary income and consumption flows. Therefore the proper way to tax billionaires is a progressive wealth tax. Finally, as individuals cannot choose their parents, there are strong meritocratic reasons why we should tax inherited wealth more than earned income or self-made wealth for which individuals can be held responsible, at least in part. This implies that the ideal fiscal system should also include a progressive inheritance tax, in addition to progressive income and wealth taxes. We then confront our prescriptions with historical experience. Although there are significant differences, we argue that observed fiscal systems in modern democracies bear important similarities with this ideal triptych.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2023. "Rethinking capital and wealth taxation," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 39(3), pages 575-591.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxford:v:39:y:2023:i:3:p:575-591.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oxrep/grad026
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    Cited by:

    1. Vinicius Curti Cícero & Daniele Tavani, 2024. "Institutional changes, effective demand and inequality: a structuralist model of secular stagnation," Working Papers PKWP2410, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    2. Rolf Aaberge & Marco Francesconi & Jørgen Modalsli & Ola L. Vestad, 2024. "How Business Income Measures Affect Income Inequality and the Tax Burden," CESifo Working Paper Series 11496, CESifo.
    3. Del Carmen, Giselle & Garriga, Santiago & Ponce, Wilman & Scot, Thiago, 2025. "Two decades of top income shares in Honduras," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    4. Thomas Kollruss, 2025. "Is the tax calculation method for exemptions with progression contrary to EU law? Quantitative and formal–analytical analysis," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, December.
    5. Kristoffer Berg, 2025. "Taxing Corporate or Shareholder Income," CESifo Working Paper Series 12149, CESifo.
    6. Jain, Parth, 2023. "What would happen if we banned billionaires?," MPRA Paper 118679, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. İrem Güçeri & Joel Slemrod, 2023. "Taxing the rich (more)," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 39(3), pages 399-405.
    8. D’Alessandro, Simone & Distefano, Tiziano & Spinato Morlin, Guilherme & Villani, Davide, 2025. "Exploring policy responses to labour-saving technologies: An assessment of basic income, job guarantee, and working time reduction," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 49-63.
    9. Yang, C.C. & Zhao, Xueya & Zhu, Shenghao, 2023. "Tax progressivity and the Pareto tail of income distributions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    10. Marcin Lewandowski, 2025. "Wealth inequality through the lens of temptation preferences," GRAPE Working Papers 112, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    11. Juan Camilo Obando Martínez, 2026. "A New Lens on the Rich: Measuring Personal Income with Novel Tax Data from Colombia," Documentos CEDE 2026-2, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    12. Jain, Parth, 2023. "What would happen if we banned billionaires?," SocArXiv kuepj, Center for Open Science.
    13. Lin, Ziqi (Rachel), 2025. "Tax share analysis and prediction of kernel extreme Learning machine optimized by vector weighted average algorithm," OSF Preprints ymjw9_v1, Center for Open Science.
    14. Matteo Dalle Luche & Demetrio Guzzardi & Elisa Palagi & Andrea Roventini & Alessandro Santoro, 2024. "Tackling the regressivity of the Italian tax system: An optimal taxation framework with heterogeneous returns to capital," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-04753529, HAL.
    15. Kuypers, Sarah & Figari, Francesco & Verbist, Gerlinde, 2024. "Vertical and horizontal equity of wealth taxes: An assessment from a joint income-wealth perspective," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    16. Arabela ICHIM & Mihaela NECULITA & Carmen GHELASE & Daniela Ancuta SARPE, 2023. "The Effect of Assortative Mating on Wealth Inequality, why do the Rich Choose the Rich?," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 2, pages 134-137.
    17. Lu, Kelin, 2025. "Silver spoons and scales of justice: The fairness preference over unequal intergenerational wealth transfers between Americans and Chinese," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).

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