How Should Capital Be Taxed?
35 Pages Posted: 3 Sep 2020
Date Written: September 1, 2020
Abstract
This survey discusses how capital should be taxed in advanced economies. We review the theoretical optimal tax literature, survey empirical studies on the distribution of capital and the distortionary costs of capital taxation, and analyze the desirability of specific taxes on capital income, wealth, property, inheritances, and corporate profits. Our overall conclusion is that capital taxation plays an important role in an optimal tax system, but only certain ways of taxing capital are able to strike a balance between optimality and administrative feasibility.
Keywords: Capital taxation, Income inequality, Inheritance tax, Optimal taxation, Property tax, Wealth inequality, Wealth tax
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation