The IREF Working Paper Series publishes original research relevant to ongoing economic policy debates. We are accepting submissions throughout the year. For more information see our open call for papers.
“An Economic Rationale for the Net Wealth Tax – Does It Exist?”- Jan Schnellenbach
“Taxonomy of Wealth Taxes” – Philipp Bagus
“Because that’s where the money is!” – Daniel Pellerin
Taxation and Justice : A classical Liberal Perspective – Petra Orogvanyiova
From taxation to Justice – Pierre Bessard
Taxation and Justice – Daniel Pellerin
Public Spending and Growth by Patrick Minford and Jiang Wang
L’endettement de l’Etat: stratégie de croissance ou myopie insouciante ? – Pierre Garello, Vesselina Spassova (french and english versions available)
Taxation and Economic Growth: Reconciling Intuition and Theory – Dalibor Rohá?
Taxation, Individual Incentives and Economic Growth – Alex Robson
Abstract: This paper surveys possible motivations having a net wealth tax. After giving a short overview over the state of wealth taxation in OECD countries, we discuss both popular arguments for such a tax, as well as economic arguments. It is argued that classical normative principles of taxation known from public economics cannot give a sound justification for a net wealth tax. The efficiency-related effects are also discussed and shown to be theoretically ambiguous, while empirical evidence hints at a negative effect on GDP growth.
Abstract : When serial bank robber Willie Sutton was apprehended at last, someone asked him why he had robbed so many banks: “Because that’s where the money is,” Sutton famously replied. The idea of taxing wealth, whatever its merits, seems to suggest itself as naturally. One may well doubt whether it is wise or prudent to equate any form of taxation so casually with grand larceny; less doubtful is the fact that both designs on the money of some by the ambitions of others are likely to end in disappointment.
Abstract: Wealth taxes are portrayed as being fair, and a rather painless way to increase funding for strapped government programs. So then, why should we consider wealth taxes? To what extent are these taxes a matter of justice and to what extent are these taxes a matter of economics? Are wealth taxes harmful or helpful to an economy? Are wealth taxes fair obligations belonging to the entrepreneur or unjust claims made by society? To answer these questions we will proceed as follows: First, we will analyze the arguments given to justify wealth taxation.
The model presented in the paper leads us to predict that the level of redistribution will be all the more important where the jurisdictions have been able to shelter themselves…
The median-voter hypothesis has been central to an extensive literature on the relationship between income inequality and public income redistribution. Knowing that the real-world market income distributions are skewed to the right, a majority of individuals earns an income that is strictly lower than the mean; the economic theory of democracy predicts a radical redistribution in favour of the poor and middle class. But a large empirical literature looking at explicit redistributive social transfers shows that it is rather the exception than the norm.
By drawing on the median voter model, George Stigler (1970) provided a theoretical basis for the alleged empirical regularity found by Aaron Director that income redistribution runs from the poor and the rich to the middle classes. The median voter model is however only applicable to describe modern representative democracies under relatively strong and unrealistic assumptions, which makes alternative equilibria of income redistribution equally plausible.
