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The Design of Capital Income Taxation: Reflections on the Mirrlees Review

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  • Christian Keuschnigg

Abstract

This commentary reflects on the recommendations of the Mirrlees Review on tax reform with a special focus on capital income taxation. Regarding the alternatives of moving to a consumption based tax system, the commentary discusses the relative merits of choosing an ACE system (allowance for corporate equity) rather than a cash-flow tax on the company level. It reviews the arguments in favour of full elimination of tax on the normal return to savings at the personal level which contrasts with alternative tax reform proposals recommending a positive but low and flat tax rate on personal capital income. It also discusses how existing computational models would have to be extended for a meaningful quantification of the gains and costs of implementing a tax reform along the lines of the Mirrlees Review.
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  • Christian Keuschnigg, 2011. "The Design of Capital Income Taxation: Reflections on the Mirrlees Review," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 32(3), pages 437-452, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:fistud:v:32:y:2011:i:3:p:437-452
    DOI: j.1475-5890.2011.00145.x
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    1. Christian Keuschnigg & Martin Dietz, 2007. "A growth oriented dual income tax," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 14(2), pages 191-221, April.
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    12. Christian Keuschnigg & Mirela Keuschnigg, 2010. "Transition Strategies in Fundamental Tax Reform," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2010 2010-10, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Ochmann, 2014. "Differential income taxation and household asset allocation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(8), pages 880-894, March.
    2. Kayis-Kumar, Ann, 2018. "Implementing corporate tax cuts at the expense of neutrality? A legal and optimisation analysis of fundamental reform in practice," MPRA Paper 89703, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Schock, Matthias Malte, 2019. "Steuerreformvorschläge des Mirrlees Committee und der Stiftung Marktwirtschaft [Tax Reform Proposals of the Mirrlees Committee and the Stiftung Marktwirtschaft]," MPRA Paper 96689, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Claudio Agostini & Pablo Correa & Carla Maldonado & Max Spiess, 2021. "Hoja en blanco: hacia una nueva institucionalidad y régimen tributario para Chile," Estudios Públicos, Centro de Estudios Públicos, vol. 0(161), pages 153-186.
    5. Kayis-Kumar, Ann, 2015. "Thin capitalisation rules: A second-best solution to the cross-border debt bias?," MPRA Paper 72031, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    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
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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