This Handbook entry presents a conceptual, normative overview of the subject of taxation. It emphasizes the relationships among the main functions of taxation—notably, raising revenue, redistributing income, and correcting externalities—and the mapping between these functions and various...

The semi-dual income tax typically combines a progressive tax schedule for labour and pension income with low and often flat and differentiated nominal tax rates on some forms of capital income. This paper discusses the rationale for the adoption of semi-dual income tax in the taxation of...

Does income tax influence the motivation to work? We propose that the degree of effort exertion in the presence of income tax depends on people's attitudes toward two key components of taxation: redistribution and government intervention. For people favorable toward both, working while taxed is...

Estates and trusts are recognizing growing amounts of taxable income from “income in respect of a decedent” (or “IRD”). These are payments attributable to income earned by a decedent before death but received by an estate, trust, or other beneficiary after death, and taxed to that...

I study behavioral responses to changes in marginal tax rates of social security and income taxes. I find that responses depend on individual's employment status: whether a worker is a wage earner, self-employed, or a proprietor. In line with the existing literature I document weak (but...

The expected utility formulation of the problem of a risk-averse agent's allocating a portfolio between a safe and a risky asset is widely taken as standing for the proposition that if α* ε (0, 1) is the optimal allocation to the risky asset in the absence of tax, α*/(1-t) is the optimal...

The expected utility formulation of the problem of a risk-averse agent's allocating a portfolio between a safe and a risky asset is widely taken as standing for the proposition that if α* ε (0, 1) is the optimal allocation to the risky asset in the absence of tax, α*/(1-t) is the optimal...

We find a negative relation between hedge fund manager’s personal income tax rates and fund performance. Using changes in tax deferral regulation or state-level tax rates suggest causality in the tax-performance relation. Managers are less likely to hold stocks with greater information...

This paper describes the relevance to lawyers and law students of the concept of income for tax purposes and tax policy. Three reasons are given for law practitioners to have an understanding of the policies underlying tax legislation: the complexity of the legislation; the fact that it can...

Most modern economies tax both consumption and labour income. While there is an extensive normative literature on the optimal mix of the two taxes, there is little examination of what determines the actual mix in a well specified political economy context. We use a multi-dimensional spatial...