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Did tax flattening affect RRSP contributions?

Author

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  • Michael R. Veall

Abstract

In 1988 marginal personal income tax rates changed in Canada, for some individuals by reasonably substantial amounts. In this note a large sample of tax‐filer data is examined and the conclusion is drawn that, when attention is paid to the possible confounding of marginal tax rate and non‐linear income effects, there is no convincing evidence that the tax rate changes affected contributions to Registered Retirement Saving Plans (RRSPs). Est‐ce que l'aplatissement des taux d'imposition influence les contributions au REER? En 1988, les taux marginaux d'imposition du revenu personnel ont changé au Canada, et, pour certaines personnes, ces changements ont été substantiels. Cette note examine un grand échantillon de rapports d'impôts et en arrive à la conclusion que, quand on prend en compte le mélange possible des effets du taux marginal d'imposition et des effets de revenu non‐linéaires, il n'y a pas de résultats qui montrent de façon probante que les changements dans les taux d'imposition ont influencé les contributions au REER.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael R. Veall, 2001. "Did tax flattening affect RRSP contributions?," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(1), pages 120-131, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:34:y:2001:i:1:p:120-131
    DOI: 10.1111/0008-4085.00065
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    Cited by:

    1. Derek Messacar, 2022. "Loss-Averse Tax Manipulation and Tax-Preferred Savings," Cahiers de recherche / Working Papers 8, Institut sur la retraite et l'épargne / Retirement and Savings Institute.
    2. Sillamaa, Mary-Anne & Veall, Michael R., 2001. "The effect of marginal tax rates on taxable income: a panel study of the 1988 tax flattening in Canada," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 341-356, June.
    3. Bev Dahlby & Kevin Milligan, 2017. "From theory to practice: Canadian economists contributions to public finance," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1324-1347, December.
    4. M. Martin Boyer & Philippe d’Astous & Pierre-Carl Michaud, 2019. "Tax-Sheltered Retirement Accounts: Can Financial Education Improve Decisions?," CIRANO Working Papers 2019s-10, CIRANO.
    5. Alan, Sule & Atalay, Kadir & Crossley, Thomas F. & Jeon, Sung-Hee, 2010. "New evidence on taxes and portfolio choice," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(11-12), pages 813-823, December.
    6. Derek Messacar, 2018. "The Effects of Vesting and Locking in Pension Assets on Participation in Employer-Sponsored Pension Plans," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 178-200, June.
    7. Milligan, Kevin, 2003. "How do contribution limits affect contributions to tax-preferred savings accounts?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 253-281, February.
    8. Athiphat Muthitacharoen & Trongwut Burong, 2022. "How do taxpayers respond to tax subsidy for long-term savings? Evidence from Thailand’s tax return data," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(3), pages 726-750, June.
    9. Håkan Selin, 2012. "Marginal Tax Rates and Tax‐Favoured Pension Savings of the Self‐Employed: Evidence from Sweden," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(1), pages 79-100, March.
    10. Michael R. Veall, 2006. "The Top Shares of Older Earners in Canada," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 156, McMaster University.
    11. Juan Ayuso & Juan F. Jimeno & Ernesto Villanueva, 2019. "The effects of the introduction of tax incentives on retirement saving," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 211-249, November.
    12. Veall, Michael R., 2013. "Estimating the Number of Guaranteed Income Supplement Recipients Who Have Mistakenly Saved in Registered Retirement Savings Plans and Registered Pension Plans," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2013-26, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 29 Apr 2013.
    13. Messacar, Derek, 2023. "Loss-averse tax manipulation and tax-preferred savings," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 257-278.
    14. Engelhardt, Gary V. & Madrian, Brigitte C., 2004. "Employee Stock Purchase Plans," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 57(2), pages 385-406, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

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