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Optimal Taxation with Multiple Incomes and Types

Author

Listed:
  • Kevin Spiritus
  • Etienne Lehmann
  • Sander Renes
  • Floris T. Zoutman

Abstract

We analyze the optimal nonlinear income tax schedule when taxpayers earn multiple incomes and differ along many unobserved dimensions. We derive the necessary conditions for the government’s optimum using both a tax perturbation and a mechanism design approach, and show that both methods produce the same results. Our main contribution is to propose a numerical method to find the optimal tax schedule. Applied to the optimal taxation of couples, we find that optimal isotax curves are very close to linear and parallel. The slope of isotax curves is strongly affected by the relative tax-elasticity of male and female income. We make several additional contributions, including a test for Pareto efficiency and a condition on primitives that ensures the government’s necessary conditions are sufficient and the solution to the problem is unique.
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Suggested Citation

  • Kevin Spiritus & Etienne Lehmann & Sander Renes & Floris T. Zoutman, 2022. "Optimal Taxation with Multiple Incomes and Types," TEPP Working Paper 2022-01, TEPP.
    • Handle: RePEc:tep:teppwp:wp22-01
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    File URL: http://www.tepp-repec.eu/RePEc/files/teppwp/TEPP-wp-22-01-ks-el-sr-fz.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jacquet, Laurence & Lehmann, Etienne, 2021. "How to Tax Different Incomes?," IZA Discussion Papers 14739, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Fageda, Xavier & Oesingmann, Katrin, 2025. "The impact of carbon pricing on tourist destinations: Shifts in demand, supply and emissions in the European aviation market," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    3. Paweł Doligalski & Piotr Dworczak & Mohammad Akbarpour & Scott Duke Kominers*, 2025. "Optimal Redistribution via Income Taxation and Market Design," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 25/787, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    4. Thomas Aronsson & Olof Johansson-Stenman & Ronald Wendner, 2024. "Charity, Status, and Optimal Taxation: Welfarist and Non-Welfarist Approaches," Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(4), pages 747-785.
    5. Niemeier, Hans-Martin & Forsyth, Peter, 2025. "Addressing the impact of airport pricing, investment and operations on greenhouse gas emissions," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    6. Bierbrauer, Felix & Boyer, Pierre & Peichl, Andreas & Weishaar, Daniel, 2023. "The taxation of couples," CEPR Discussion Papers 18138, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Bernardo, Valeria & Fageda, Xavier & Teixidó, Jordi, 2024. "Flight ticket taxes in Europe: Environmental and economic impact," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    8. Kevin Spiritus, 2022. "Optimal Commodity Taxation Under Non-linear Income Taxation," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-018/VI, Tinbergen Institute.
    9. Robin Boadway & Kevin Spiritus, 2025. "Optimal taxation of normal and excess returns to risky assets," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 127(2), pages 366-389, April.
    10. Kevin Spiritus, 2025. "Optimal commodity taxation when households earn multiple incomes," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 32(1), pages 98-119, February.
    11. William Dodds, 2024. "Solving multidimensional screening problems using a generalized single crossing property," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(4), pages 1025-1084, June.
    12. Proost, Stef, 2024. "Looking for winning policies to address the climate issue in EU-aviation," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    13. Aart Gerritsen, 2024. "Optimal nonlinear taxation: a simpler approach," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(2), pages 486-510, April.
    14. Felix J. Bierbrauer & Pierre C. Boyer & Andreas Peichl & Daniel Weishaar, 2023. "The Political Economy of Joint Taxation," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 239, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    15. Fageda, Xavier & Oesingmann, Katrin, 2025. "Intercontinental air travel in the era of carbon pricing: demand and hub shifts," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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