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Optimal capital taxation with idiosyncratic investment risk

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  • Vasia Panousi
  • Catarina Reis

Abstract

We examine the optimal taxation of capital in a Ramsey setting of a general-equilibrium heterogeneous-agent economy with uninsurable idiosyncratic investment or capital-income risk. We prove that the ex ante optimal tax, evaluated at steady state, maximizes human wealth, namely the present discounted value of agents' income from sources that are not subject to capital risk. Furthermore, when the amount of idiosyncratic risk in the economy is higher than a minimum lower bound, the optimal tax is positive and it is precisely the tax that maximizes the economy-wide aggregates, such as the capital stock and output. By contrast, when the amount of risk is exogenously very low, the social planner finds it optimal to increase social risk taking by subsidizing investment in capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Vasia Panousi & Catarina Reis, 2012. "Optimal capital taxation with idiosyncratic investment risk," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2012-70, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2012-70
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    Cited by:

    1. Sebastian Dyrda & Marcelo Pedroni, 2015. "Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Model with Uninsurable Idiosyncratic Shocks," Working Papers tecipa-550, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    2. Krueger, Dirk & Ludwig, Alexander & Villalvazo, Sergio, 2021. "Optimal taxes on capital in the OLG model with uninsurable idiosyncratic income risk," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    3. Shenghao Zhu, 2019. "A Becker–Tomes model with investment risk," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 67(4), pages 951-981, June.
    4. Ivo Bakota, 2020. "Capital Income Taxation with Portfolio Choice," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp668, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    5. Jason M. DeBacker & Bradley T. Heim & Vasia Panousi & Shanthi Ramnath & Ivan Vidangos, 2012. "The properties of income risk in privately held businesses," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2012-69, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    6. Corina Boar & Matthew Knowles, 2020. "Entrepreneurship, Agency Frictions and Redistributive Capital Taxation," Discussion Paper Series, School of Economics and Finance 202004, School of Economics and Finance, University of St Andrews.
    7. Sebastian Dyrda & Marcelo Pedroni, 2015. "Optimal Fiscal Policy in a Model with Uninsurable Idiosyncratic Shocks," Working Papers tecipa-549, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    8. Nicholas Bloom & Max Floetotto & Nir Jaimovich & Itay Saporta†Eksten & Stephen J. Terry, 2018. "Really Uncertain Business Cycles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 86(3), pages 1031-1065, May.
    9. Hui Guo & Buhui Qiu, 2023. "Conditional Equity Premium and Aggregate Corporate Investment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(1), pages 251-295, February.
    10. Benjamin Pugsley & Sebastian Dyrda, 2017. "Taxes, Regulations of Businesses and Evolution of Income Inequality in the US," 2017 Meeting Papers 1463, Society for Economic Dynamics.

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