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The Labor Supply and Tax Revenue Consequences of Federal Same-Sex Marriage Legalization

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  • Stevenson, Adam

Abstract

This paper estimates the effects of same-sex marriage legalization on federal income tax revenue using changes in taxation generated from the 2003 Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. These estimates rely critically on the responsiveness of labor supply and marital choice to changes in the tax code. In addition, this paper proposes a novel measure of the marriage penalty that incorporates the fact that individuals will respond optimally to changes in marginal tax rates within the household. The estimates suggest that legalization will result in a small gain, around $34 million per year, in federal income tax revenue.

Suggested Citation

  • Stevenson, Adam, 2012. "The Labor Supply and Tax Revenue Consequences of Federal Same-Sex Marriage Legalization," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 783-806, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:65:y:2012:i:4:p:783-806
    DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2012.4.03
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    Cited by:

    1. Lina Aldén & Lena Edlund & Mats Hammarstedt & Michael Mueller-Smith, 2015. "Effect of Registered Partnership on Labor Earnings and Fertility for Same-Sex Couples: Evidence From Swedish Register Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1243-1268, August.
    2. Ganghua Mei & Lei Yue, 2022. "Labor supply and time use: evidence from cohabiting women in the United States," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(44), pages 5133-5158, September.
    3. James Alm & J. Sebastian Leguizamon & Susane Leguizamon, 2014. "Revisiting the Income Tax Effects of Legalizing Same‐Sex Marriages," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 263-289, March.
    4. Elliott Isaac, 2018. "Suddenly Married: Joint Taxation And The Labor Supply Of Same-Sex Married Couples After U.S. v. Windsor," Working Papers 1809, Tulane University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General

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