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on Accounting and Auditing |
| By: | Miglo, A. |
| Abstract: | This note provides an explanation for why tax rates on capital gains are usually lower than ordinary income tax rates based on manager's agency problem related to "empire-building" or the underinvestment problem. |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gue:guelph:2008-13&r=acc |
| By: | Patricia Apps; Ray Rees |
| Abstract: | In recent years, the US, UK and Australia have lowered tax rates on high incomes and expanded tax credits and family transfer payments that are withdrawn on the joint income of a couple. These reforms result in significant changes in the structure of marginal and average income tax rates. In this paper we present a case study that examines the impact of reforms of this kind on the structure of tax rates on incomes in Australia. We find that the reforms have led to high effective marginal rates across a wide middle band of earnings and to a shift towards joint taxation. As is well known, joint taxation results in high tax rates on secondary earners, with in consequence undesirable effects on both work incentive and fairness of the income distribution. A lifecycle analysis of time use and saving decisions indicates strong negative effects on female labour supply and household saving. |
| Keywords: | Income taxation; family benefits; time allocation; labour supply; lifecycle saving; household production |
| JEL: | D91 H24 H31 I38 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:dpaper:590&r=acc |
| By: | Plachta, Robert |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the interactions of horizontal fiscal equalisation schemes with debt policy by sovereign regional governments. Local public goods are either financed by debt or taxation. A horizontal equalisation scheme eleviates regional public revenue disparities under horizontal and vertical tax competition. We show that fiscal equalisation schemes have no impact on the optimal central government grant whereas they can either soften or harden the regional budget constraint depending on the specific formulae. Revenue equalisation softens the budget constraint whereas tax base equalisation hardens the budget constraint of poor states. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal federalism, public debt, soft budget constraint, fiscal equalisation, tax competition |
| JEL: | E62 H7 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:uoccpe:7451&r=acc |
| By: | Laura Vartia |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses how different tax policies can affect investment and productivity. To address this question the paper uses industry-level data from a set of OECD countries and examines whether different industries are affected differently by taxation. Investment is shown to respond negatively to an increase in the corporate tax rate and a decrease in capital depreciation allowances through changes in the user cost of capital. The analysis of potential links between taxes and productivity tests the hypothesis that taxes affect productivity through different channels and that due to some salient industry characteristics some industries are inherently more affected than others by certain taxes. The paper finds evidence that corporate and top personal income taxes have a negative effect on productivity. In contrast, tax incentives for research and development (R&D) are found to have a positive effect on productivity. These effects are stronger in those industries that are inherently more profitable, have more entrepreneurial activity and are more R&D intensive, respectively. <P>L’effet des politiques de taxation sur les investissements and la productivité dans les pays de l'OCDE : Une analyse sectorielle <BR>Cette étude vise à étudier l’effet des politiques de taxation sur les investissements et la productivité des entreprises. Nous utilisons des données sectorielles pour un ensemble de pays de l’OCDE et analysons dans quelle mesure l’impact de la taxation diffère selon les secteurs. Selon nos résultats, une hausse de l’impôt sur les sociétés ou une baisse des provisions pour amortissement du capital provenant de variations du coût d’usage du capital induisent une baisse de l’investissement des entreprises. Nous analysons les mécanismes de l’impact de la taxation des entreprises sur leur productivité et nous testons si certains secteurs y sont plus sensibles que d’autres. Selon nos estimations, l’impôt sur les sociétés, mais aussi les dernières tranches de l’impôt sur le revenu, ont un impact négatif sur la productivité. En revanche, les avantages fiscaux visant à promouvoir la recherche et développement semblent avoir un effet bénéfique sur la productivité. Ces effets sont plus forts dans les secteurs plus rentables, dans les secteurs caractérisés par un niveau plus élevé d’activité entrepreneuriale, et dans les secteurs caractérisés par un niveau plus élevé de recherche et développement. |
| Keywords: | investment, investissement, impôt sur le revenu, user cost, coût d'usage, corporate and personal income taxation, total factor productivity, impôt sur les sociétés, productivité globale des facteurs |
| JEL: | C23 E22 H24 H25 H30 |
| Date: | 2008–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:656-en&r=acc |
| By: | Dean Baker |
| Abstract: | The recent economic turmoil has generated renewed interest in a financial transactions tax (FTT). While such a tax will be vigorously opposed by the financial industry, it offers a very attractive mechanism for raising revenue that is arguably efficiency-enhancing. Calculations based on 2000 trading volumes showed that a set of scaled transactions taxes, imposed on transfers of stock and other financial assets, could raise more than $100 billion a year, even assuming large reductions in trading volume. |
| Keywords: | financial taxes, financial transactions, economic crisis, financial crisis |
| JEL: | G G1 G18 G2 G24 G28 G3 G38 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2008-36&r=acc |