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Optimal income taxation with labor supply responses at two margins: When is an Earned Income Tax Credit optimal?

Author

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  • Emanuel Hansen

    (University of Cologne)

Abstract
This paper studies optimal non-linear income taxation in an empirically plausible model with labor supply responses at the intensive (hours, effort) and the extensive (participation) margin. In this model, redistributive taxation gives rise to a previously neglected trade-off between two aspects of effciency: To reduce the deadweight loss from distortions at the extensive margin, the social planner has to increase distortions at the intensive margin and vice versa. Due to this trade-off, minimizing the overall deadweight loss requires to distort labor supply by low-skill workers upwards at both margins. Building on these insights, the paper is the first to provide conditions under which social welfare is maximized by an Earned Income Tax Credit with negative marginal taxes and negative participation taxes at low income levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Emanuel Hansen, 2017. "Optimal income taxation with labor supply responses at two margins: When is an Earned Income Tax Credit optimal?," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2017_10, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    • Handle: RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2017_10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Charlotte Bartels & Cortnie Shupe, 2023. "Drivers of participation elasticities across Europe: gender or earner role within the household?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(1), pages 167-214, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Optimal income taxation; Extensive margin; Intensive margin;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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