The Economics of Taxing Net Wealth: A Survey of the Issues
- This paper surveys possible motivations for 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. Finally, it is argued that despite of widespread and persistent lobbying for a revitalization of the net wealth tax, this is unlikely to happen due to political economy constraints.
Author: | Jan SchnellenbachORCiD |
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ISSN: | 1523-9721 |
Title of the source (English): | Public Finance and Management |
Document Type: | Scientific journal article peer-reviewed |
Language: | English |
Year of publication: | 2012 |
Tag: | inequality; net wealth tax; redistribution; wealth |
Volume/Year: | 12 |
Issue number: | 4 |
First Page: | 368 |
Last Page: | 400 |
Faculty/Chair: | Fakultät 5 Wirtschaft, Recht und Gesellschaft / FG VWL, insbesondere Mikroökonomik |