IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp18303.html

Housing, Income Inequality and Progressivity of Taxes and Transfers

Author

Listed:
  • Siminski, Peter

    (University of Technology, Sydney)

  • Wilkins, Roger

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research)

Abstract

We examine the role of owner-occupied housing for income inequality. Departing from related work, we incorporate accrued capital gains, focus on long-run measures of income, and consider implications for tax progressivity. Using Australia as a case study, we show that housing income can have major implications for the apparent level and trends over time of inequality, progressivity of taxes and transfers, as well as the demographic profile of the rich and the poor. When imputed rent and accrued capital gains—neither of which are taxed—are included in the income base, the redistributive impact of income tax is reduced by 40%.

Suggested Citation

  • Siminski, Peter & Wilkins, Roger, 2025. "Housing, Income Inequality and Progressivity of Taxes and Transfers," IZA Discussion Papers 18303, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18303
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp18303.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yannis M. Ioannides & L. Rachel Ngai, 2025. "Housing and Inequality," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 63(3), pages 916-963, September.
    2. Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Kohl, Sebastian & Korzhenevych, Artem & Pfeiffer, Linus, 2023. "The hidden homeownership welfare state: an international long-term perspective on the tax treatment of homeowners," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(1), pages 86-114, March.
    3. Conor Clarke & Wojciech Kopczuk, 2025. "Measuring Income and Income Inequality," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 103-126, Spring.
    4. Lidia Ceriani & Sergio Olivieri & Marco Ranzani, 2023. "Housing, imputed rent, and household welfare," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(1), pages 131-168, March.
    5. repec:bla:revinw:v:39:y:1993:i:3:p:229-56 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2003. "Income Inequality in the United States, 1913–1998," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 1-41.
    7. Alexeev, Sergey, 2020. "The role of imputed rents in intergenerational income mobility in three countries," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    8. Kakwani, Nanok C, 1977. "Measurement of Tax Progressivity: An International Comparison," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 87(345), pages 71-80, March.
    9. Lambert, Peter J, 1985. "On the Redistributive Effect of Taxes and Benefits," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 32(1), pages 39-54, February.
    10. Katharina Knoll & Moritz Schularick & Thomas Steger, 2017. "No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870-2012," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 331-353, February.
    11. Frick, Joachim R. & Grabka, Markus M. & Smeeding, Timothy M. & Tsakloglou, Panos, 2010. "Distributional effects of imputed rents in five European countries," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 167-179, September.
    12. Philip Armour & Richard V. Burkhauser & Jeff Larrimore, 2013. "Deconstructing Income and Income Inequality Measures: A Crosswalk from Market Income to Comprehensive Income," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 173-177, May.
    13. Greg Kaplan & Gianni La Cava & Tahlee Stone, 2018. "Household Economic Inequality in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 94(305), pages 117-134, June.
    14. Steven N. Durlauf & Ananth Seshadri, 2018. "Understanding the Great Gatsby Curve," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 333-393.
    15. Jeff Larrimore & Richard V. Burkhauser & Gerald Auten & Philip Armour, 2021. "Recent Trends in US Income Distributions in Tax Record Data Using More Comprehensive Measures of Income Including Real Accrued Capital Gains," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(5), pages 1319-1360.
    16. Philip Armour & Richard V. Burkhauser & Jeff Larrimore, 2014. "Levels and Trends in U.S. Income and its Distribution: A Crosswalk from Market Income towards a Comprehensive Haig-Simons Income Approach," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 271-293, October.
    17. Wojciech Kopczuk & Emmanuel Saez & Jae Song, 2010. "Earnings Inequality and Mobility in the United States: Evidence from Social Security Data Since 1937," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 91-128.
    18. Peter Saunders & Peter Siminski, 2005. "Home Ownership And Inequality: Imputed Rent And Income Distribution In Australia," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 24(4), pages 346-367, December.
    19. Shorrocks, Anthony, 1978. "Income inequality and income mobility," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 376-393, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicolas Herault, 2015. "How Income Mobility and Income Growth Explain Income Inequality Trends," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2015n14, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    2. Moritz Kuhn & Moritz Schularick & Ulrike I. Steins, 2020. "Income and Wealth Inequality in America, 1949–2016," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3469-3519.
    3. Mario Alloza, 2021. "The impact of taxes on income mobility," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(4), pages 794-854, August.
    4. Richard V. Burkhauser & Nicolas Hérault & Stephen P. Jenkins & Roger Wilkins, 2016. "What has Been Happening to UK Income Inequality Since the Mid-1990s? Answers from Reconciled and Combined Household Survey and Tax Return Data," NBER Working Papers 21991, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Annette Alstadsæter & Martin Jacob & Wojciech Kopczuk & Kjetil Telle, 2016. "Accounting for business income in measuring top income shares. Integrated accrual approach using individual and firm data from Norway," Discussion Papers 837, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    6. Kopczuk, Wojciech & Alstadsæter, Annette & Jacob, Martin & Telle, Kjetil, 2016. "Accounting for Business Income in Measuring Top Income Shares: Integrated Accrual Approach Using Individual and Firm Data from," CEPR Discussion Papers 11671, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    7. Jeff Larrimore & David Splinter, 2026. "Income Mobility of the Top One Percent," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2026-015, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    8. Austin Nichols & Philipp Rehm, 2014. "Income Risk in 30 Countries," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(S1), pages 98-116, May.
    9. Chung Tran & Nabeeh Zakariyya, 2021. "Tax Progressivity in Australia: Facts, Measurements and Estimates†," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 97(316), pages 45-77, March.
    10. Kufenko, Vadim & Geloso, Vincent, 2021. "Who are the champions? Inequality, economic freedom and the Olympics," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 411-427, June.
    11. Ilpo Suoniemi & Juha Rantala, 2010. "Income mobility, persistent inequality and age, recent experiences from Finland," Working Papers 263, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    12. repec:iae:iaewps:wp2016n5 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Till Treeck, 2014. "Did Inequality Cause The U.S. Financial Crisis?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 421-448, July.
    14. Nicolas Herault & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2021. "Redistributive effect and the progressivity of taxes and benefits: evidence for the UK, 1977–2018," Working Papers 592, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    15. Xiong, Ning & Wei, Yehua Dennis, 2025. "Economic inequality, intergenerational mobility, and life expectancy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 366(C).
    16. Muthitacharoen, Athiphat & Burong, Trongwut, 2023. "Climbing the economic ladder: Earnings inequality and intragenerational mobility among Thai formal workers," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    17. Smith, V. Kerry, 2021. "A note on income inequality at the state level," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    18. Anthony B. Atkinson & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2011. "Top Incomes in the Long Run of History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-71, March.
    19. Hai-Anh H. Dang & Michael M. Lokshin & Kseniya Abanokova & Maurizio Bussolo, 2020. "Welfare Dynamics and Inequality in the Russian Federation During 1994–2015," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 812-846, September.
    20. Diego Battiston & Stephan Maurer & Andrei Potlogea & Jose V. Rodriguez Mora, 2025. "The Short and Long Run Dynamics of the Great Gatsby Curve," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 324, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    21. Anders Frederiksen & Odile Poulsen, 2016. "Income Inequality: The Consequences Of Skill-Upgrading When Firms Have Hierarchical Organizational Structures," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(2), pages 1224-1239, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18303. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Mark Fallak (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaalu.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.