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The Elasticity of Taxable Income in New Zealand

Author

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  • Claus, Iris
  • Creedy, John
  • Teng, Josh

Abstract

This paper reports estimates of the elasticity of taxable income with respect to the net-of-tax rate for New Zealand taxpayers. The relative stability of the New Zealand personal income tax system, in terms of marginal rates, thresholds and the tax base, provides helpful conditions for deriving these estimates. The elasticity of taxable income was estimated to be substantially higher for the highest income groups. Changes in the timing of income flows for the higher income recipients were found to be an important response to the announcement of a new higher-rate bracket. The marginal welfare costs of personal income taxation were consistent across years, being relatively small for all but the higher tax brackets. For the top marginal rate bracket of 39 per cent, the welfare cost of raising an extra dollar of tax revenue was estimated to be well in excess of a dollar.

Suggested Citation

  • Claus, Iris & Creedy, John & Teng, Josh, 2012. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income in New Zealand," Working Paper Series 2427, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    • Handle: RePEc:vuw:vuwcpf:2427
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    File URL: http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/2427
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    Cited by:

    1. John Creedy & Norman Gemmell & Loc Nguyen, 2018. "Income Inequality in New Zealand, 1935–2014," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 51(1), pages 21-40, March.
    2. A. B Atkinson & Andrew Leigh, 2013. "The Distribution of Top Incomes in Five Anglo-Saxon Countries Over the Long Run," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89, pages 31-47, June.
    3. John Creedy & Penny Mok, 2018. "The marginal welfare cost of personal income taxation in New Zealand," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 323-338, September.
    4. Díaz-Caro, Carlos & Onrubia, Jorge, 2018. "How do taxable income responses to marginal tax rates differ by sex, marital status and age? Evidence from Spanish dual income tax," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 12, pages 1-25.
    5. Eiji Okano & Masataka Eguchi, 2020. "The importance of default risk awareness in conducting monetary and fiscal policies," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(3), pages 361-392, September.
    6. Alinaghi, Nazila & Creedy, John & Gemmell, Norman, 2020. "Do Couples Bunch More? Evidence from Partnered and Single Taxpayers in New Zealand," Working Paper Series 9366, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    7. Atala M. Qtish & Adel M. Qatawneh, 2015. "Critical Examination of the Impact of E-Government on the Income Tax Collections: A Case Study in the Income and Sales Tax Department of Jordan," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 5(4), pages 27-36, April.
    8. John Creedy & Norman Gemmell, 2011. "Tax Rates and Revenue Changes: Behavioural and Structural Factors," Treasury Working Paper Series 11/05, New Zealand Treasury.
    9. Arrazola, María & de Hevia, José & Romero, Desiderio & Sanz-Sanz, José Félix, 2014. "Personal Income Tax Reforms and the Elasticity of Reported Income to Marginal Tax Rates: An Empirical Analysis Applied to Spain," Working Paper Series 3593, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    10. Carey, Simon & Creedy, John & Gemmell, Norman & Teng, Josh, 2012. "Regression Estimates of the Elasticity of Taxable Income and the Choice of Instrument," Working Paper Series 2429, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    11. John Creedy & Norman Gemmell, 2013. "Measuring revenue responses to tax rate changes in multi-rate income tax systems: behavioural and structural factors," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 20(6), pages 974-991, December.
    12. John Creedy, 2015. "The elasticity of taxable income, welfare changes and optimal tax rates," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(3), pages 227-248, August.
    13. Jos順鬩x Sanz-Sanz & Mar, 2015. "Reported gross income and marginal tax rates: estimation of the behavioural reactions of Spanish taxpayers," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 466-484, January.
    14. Ball, Christopher & Creedy, John, 2015. "Inequality in New Zealand 1983/84 to 2013/14," Working Paper Series 4665, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    15. Gemmell, Norman, 2020. "New Zealand's Tax Reforms and 'Tax Sheltering' Behaviour," Working Paper Series 9367, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    16. Carlos Díaz Caro & Jorge Onrubia Fernández, 2015. "Elasticidades de la renta gravable y costes de eficiencia en el IRPF dual," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2015-02, FEDEA.
    17. Creedy, John & Gemmell, Norman, 2012. "Revenue-Maximising Elasticities of Taxable Income in Multi-Rate Income Tax Structures," Working Paper Series 2431, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income taxation; Taxable income; Elasticity of taxable income; Excess burden of taxation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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