Wealth Taxation and Wealth Accumulation: Theory and Evidence From Denmark*

Quarterly Journal of Economics - Tập 135 Số 1 - Trang 329-388 - 2020
Katrine Jakobsen1, Kristian Jakobsen2, Henrik Kleven3, Gabriel Zucman4
1University of Copenhagen and Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality
2Think Tank DEA
3Princeton University and National Bureau of Economic Research
4University of California, Berkeley and National Bureau of Economic Research

Tóm tắt

Abstract Using administrative wealth records from Denmark, we study the effects of wealth taxes on wealth accumulation. Denmark used to impose one of the world’s highest marginal tax rates on wealth, but this tax was greatly reduced starting in 1989 and later abolished. Due to the specific design of the wealth tax, the 1989 reform provides a compelling quasi-experiment for understanding behavioral responses among the wealthiest segments of the population. We find clear reduced-form effects of wealth taxes in the short and medium run, with larger effects on the very wealthy than on the moderately wealthy. We develop a simple life cycle model with utility of residual wealth (bequests) allowing us to interpret the evidence in terms of structural primitives. We calibrate the model to the quasi-experimental moments and simulate the model forward to estimate the long-run effect of wealth taxes on wealth accumulation. Our simulations show that the long-run elasticity of taxable wealth with respect to the net-of-tax return is sizable at the top of the distribution.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Alstadsæter, 2019, Tax Evasion and Inequality, American Economic Review, 109, 2073, 10.1257/aer.20172043

Alvaredo, 2017, The World Wealth and Income Database (WID.world)

Andreoni, 1989, Giving with Impure Altruism: Applications to Charity and Ricardian Equivalence, Journal of Political Economy, 97, 1447, 10.1086/261662

Andreoni, 1990, Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving, Economic Journal, 100, 464, 10.2307/2234133

Atkinson, 1976, The Design of Tax Structure: Direct versus Indirect Taxation, Journal of Public Economics, 6, 55, 10.1016/0047-2727(76)90041-4

Auerbach, 2002, Taxation and Economic Efficiency, Handbook of Public Economics

Benhabib, 2018, Skewed Wealth Distributions: Theory and Empirics, Journal of Economic Literature, 56, 1261, 10.1257/jel.20161390

Best, , Estimating the Elasticity of Intertemporal Substitution Using Mortgage Notches, Review of Economic Studies

Boserup, 2014, Stability and Persistence of Intergenerational Wealth Formation: Evidence from Danish Wealth Records of Three Generations

Brülhart, 2016, Taxing Wealth: Evidence from Switzerland, 10.3386/w22376

Carroll, 2002, Why Do the Rich Save So Much?, Does Atlas Shrug? The Economic Consequences of Taxing the Rich

Chamley, 1986, Optimal Taxation of Capital Income in General Equilibrium with Infinite Lives, Econometrica, 54, 607, 10.2307/1911310

Chetty, 2014, Active vs. Passive Decisions and Crowd-Out in Retirement Savings Accounts: Evidence from Denmark, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129, 1141, 10.1093/qje/qju013

De Nardi, 2004, Wealth Inequality and Intergenerational Links, Review of Economic Studies, 71, 743, 10.1111/j.1467-937X.2004.00302.x

Fagereng, 2016, Heterogeneity and Persistence in Returns to Wealth, 10.3386/w22822

Farhi, 2010, Progressive Estate Taxation, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125, 635, 10.1162/qjec.2010.125.2.635

Freyaldenhoven, 2019, Pre-event Trends in the Panel Event-study Design, American Economic Review, 109, 3307, 10.1257/aer.20180609

Gruber, 2018, Do People Respond to the Mortgage Interest Deduction? Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Denmark

Jakobsen, 2019, Replication Data for ‘Wealth Taxation and Wealth Accumulation: Theory and Evidence from Denmark’

Judd, 1985, Redistributive Taxation in a Simple Perfect Foresight Model, Journal of Public Economics, 28, 59, 10.1016/0047-2727(85)90020-9

Kaplow, 2011, Utility from Accumulation, National Tax Association Proceedings, 189

Kleven, 2014, How Can Scandinavians Tax So Much?, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28, 77, 10.1257/jep.28.4.77

Kleven, 2016, Bunching, Annual Review of Economics, 8, 435, 10.1146/annurev-economics-080315-015234

Kleven, , Taxation and Migration: Evidence and Policy Implications, Journal of Economic Perspectives

Kleven, 2014, Estimating Taxable Income Responses Using Danish Tax Reforms, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 6, 271

Kopczuk, 2009, Economics of Estate Taxation: A Brief Review of Theory and Evidence, Tax Law Review, 63, 139

Kopczuk, 2013, Incentive Effects of Inheritances and Optimal Estate Taxation, American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 103, 472, 10.1257/aer.103.3.472

Kopczuk, 2013, Taxation of Intergenerational Transfers and Wealth, Handbook of Public Economics, 10.1016/B978-0-444-53759-1.00006-6

Kreiner, 2015, Measuring the Accuracy of Survey Responses Using Administrative Register Data: Evidence from Denmark, Improving the Measurement of Household Consumption Expenditures, 10.7208/chicago/9780226194714.003.0011

Leth-Petersen, 2010, Intertemporal Consumption and Credit Constraints: Does Total Expenditure Respond to an Exogenous Shock to Credit?, American Economic Review, 100, 1080, 10.1257/aer.100.3.1080

Love, 2009, The Trajectory of Wealth in Retirement, Journal of Public Economics, 93, 191, 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.09.003

Love, 1988, Taxation of Net Wealth, Capital Transfers and Capital Gains of Individuals

Piketty, 2014, Capital in the Twenty First Century, 10.4159/9780674369542

Piketty, 2013, A Theory of Optimal Inheritance Taxation, Econometrica, 81, 1851, 10.3982/ECTA10712

Poterba, 2011, The Composition and Drawdown of Wealth in Retirement, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25, 95, 10.1257/jep.25.4.95

Poterba, 2018, Longitudinal Determinants of End-of-Life Wealth Inequality, Journal of Public Economics, 162, 78, 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.04.008

Roth, 2019, Pre-test with Caution: Event-study Estimates After Testing for Parallel Trends

Saez, 2018, A Simpler Theory of Optimal Capital Taxation, Journal of Public Economics, 162, 120, 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.10.004

Saez, 2016, Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data, Quarterly Journal Of Economics, 131, 519, 10.1093/qje/qjw004

Seim, 2017, Behavioral Responses to Wealth Taxes: Evidence from Sweden, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 9, 395

Seim, 2002, Skatteberegningsreglerne for personer–før og nu

Straub, , Positive Long-Run Capital Taxation: Chamley-Judd Revisited, American Economic Review

Zoutman, 2015, The Effect of Capital Taxation on Household Savings

Zucman, 2019, Global Wealth Inequality, Annual Review of Economics, 11, 109, 10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-025852

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Quarterly Journal of Economics

Tập 135 Số 1

329-388

Thông tin tác giả