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Intertemporal income shifting and the taxation of business owner-managers

Author

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  • Miller, Helen
  • Pope, Thomas
  • Smith, Kate

Abstract

We use newly linked tax records to show that the large responses of UK company owner-managers to personal taxes are due to intertemporal income shifting and not to reductions in real business activity. Around half of this shifting is short-term and helps prevent volatile incomes being taxed more heavily under progressive personal taxes. The remainder reflects systemic profit retention over long periods to take advantage of lower tax rates, including preferential treatment of capital gains. We find no evidence that this tax-induced retention increases business investment. It does, however, substantially reduce the tax revenue raised from high income business owners.

Suggested Citation

  • Miller, Helen & Pope, Thomas & Smith, Kate, 2024. "Intertemporal income shifting and the taxation of business owner-managers," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121654, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:121654
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/121654/
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    Cited by:

    1. Holmberg, Johan & Selin, Håkan, 2025. "Firm-Level Responses to a Canceled Dividend Tax Increase," Umeå Economic Studies 1040, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    2. Advani, Arun & Koenig, Felix & Pessina, Lorenzo & Summers, Andy, 2020. "Importing Inequality: Immigration and the Top 1 Percent," IZA Discussion Papers 13731, IZA Network @ LISER.
    3. Stuart Adam & Helen Miller, 2019. "Principles and practice of taxing small business," IFS Working Papers W19/31, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    4. Arun Advani & Hannah Tarrant, 2021. "Behavioural responses to a wealth tax," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 509-537, September.
    5. Michele Bernasconi & Irene Maria Buso & Anna Marenzi & Dino Rizzi, 2025. "Tax Notches in the Lab: Disentangling Real and Evasion Responses," Working Papers 2025: 15, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    6. Barra Roantree, 2024. "Fiscal policy and redistribution in Ireland," Trinity Economics Papers tep0824, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    7. Stefan Bach & Charlotte Bartels & Theresa Neef, 2025. "The Distribution of National Income in Germany, 1992-2019," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1227, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    8. Massenz, Gabriella, 2025. "Tax-Motivated Firm Splitting," Working Paper Series 1539, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    9. Bach, Stefan & Bartels, Charlotte & Neef, Theresa, 2024. "The distribution of national income in Germany, 1992-2019," IWH Discussion Papers 25/2024, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    10. Wojciech Kopczuk & Eric Zwick, 2020. "Business Incomes at the Top," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 27-51, Fall.
    11. Stuart Adam & Helen Miller, 2021. "The economic arguments for and against a wealth tax," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 457-483, September.
    12. Jaroslav Bukovina & Tomáš Lichard & Ján Palguta & Branislav Žúdel, 2025. "Corporate Minimum Tax and the Elasticity of Taxable Income: Evidence from Administrative Tax Records," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 358-387, May.
    13. Stuart Adam & James Browne & David Phillips & Barra Roantree, 2021. "Frictions and taxpayer responses: evidence from bunching at personal tax thresholds," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(3), pages 612-653, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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