To Cut or Not to Cut? On the Impact of Corporate Taxes on Employment and Income
58 Pages Posted: 11 Dec 2014 Last revised: 8 Oct 2018
There are 3 versions of this paper
To Cut or Not to Cut? On the Impact of Corporate Taxes on Employment and Income
To Cut or Not to Cut? On the Impact of Corporate Taxes on Employment and Income
To Cut or Not to Cut? On the Impact of Corporate Taxes on Employment and Income
Date Written: October 3, 2018
Abstract
Do corporate tax increases destroy jobs? And do corporate tax cuts boost employment? Answering these questions has proved empirically challenging. We propose an identification strategy that exploits variation in corporate income tax rates across U.S. states. Comparing contiguous counties straddling state borders over the period 1970 to 2010, we find that increases in corporate tax rates lead to significant reductions in employment and wage income, while corporate tax cuts only boost economic activity if implemented during recessions. Our spatial-discontinuity approach permits a causal interpretation of these findings by both establishing a plausible counterfactual and overcoming biases resulting from the fact that tax changes are often prompted by changes in economic conditions.
Keywords: Fiscal policy, Corporate taxation, Economic stimulus, Economic growth, Employment, Regional economies
JEL Classification: H2, E6
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation