How Much Does U.S. Fiscal System Redistribute?
52 Pages Posted: 29 Nov 2023 Last revised: 18 Nov 2024
Date Written: November 18, 2024
Abstract
There is a widespread view that the tax and transfer system has become less progressive and less redistributive. To assess this view, we compare data from three studies: Congressional Budget Office (2024), Piketty, Saez, Zucman (2018), and Auten and Splinter (2024). Although they use different definitions of income, units, and taxes and transfers, all three show that the tax and transfer system has become more redistributive, not less. We also review all studies of the issue since 2012, which confirms these findings. In short, there is robust evidence across definitions and methodologies, that the tax system has become more redistributive.
Keywords: progressivity, redistribution, inequality
JEL Classification: H20, H23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
How Much Does U.S. Fiscal System Redistribute?
(November 18, 2024). University of Chicago Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper No. #991, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4647122 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4647122