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Diagnosis Murder: The Death of State Death Taxes

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  • Karen Smith Conway
  • Jonathan C. Rork

Abstract

Since 1976, more than 30 states have eliminated their "death" taxes and many others have reduced them. This unexplored case of interstate tax competition presents a unique opportunity to develop a new, more satisfying definition of competitor based on historical elderly migration patterns. Using data from 1967 onward, we outline the recent history of state death tax competitio n and present a spatial econometric analysis. Interstate tax competition is evident and grows stronger when using migration-based definitions of competitors. The article concludes with still more evidence of interstate tax competition--the recent movement by states to effectively revive their death taxes. (JEL H7, D7) Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Karen Smith Conway & Jonathan C. Rork, 2004. "Diagnosis Murder: The Death of State Death Taxes," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(4), pages 537-559, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecinqu:v:42:y:2004:i:4:p:537-559
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Brülhart, Marius & Parchet, Raphaël, 2014. "Alleged tax competition: The mysterious death of bequest taxes in Switzerland," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 63-78.
    2. Levent Kutlu, 2022. "Spatial stochastic frontier model with endogenous weighting matrix," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1947-1968, October.
    3. Jonathan C. Rork & Gary A. Wagner, 2009. "Reciprocity and Competition: Is There a Connection?," Working Papers 2009/1, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    4. Ivo Bischoff & Nataliya Kusa, 2015. "Policy preferences for inheritance taxation," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201531, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    5. Enrico Moretti & Daniel J. Wilson, 2023. "Taxing Billionaires: Estate Taxes and the Geographical Location of the Ultra-Wealthy," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 424-466, May.
    6. Alessandro Spiganti, 2020. "Inequality of opportunity, inequality of effort, and innovation," Economics Working Papers MWP 2020/02, European University Institute.
    7. Tosun, Mehmet S. & Williamson, Claudia R. & Yakovlev, Pavel, 2009. "Population Aging, Elderly Migration and Education Spending: Intergenerational Conflict Revisited," IZA Discussion Papers 4161, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Donald Bruce & John Deskins, 2012. "Can state tax policies be used to promote entrepreneurial activity?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 375-397, May.
    9. José Durán-Cabré & Alejandro Esteller-Moré & Luca Salvadori, 2015. "Empirical evidence on horizontal competition in tax enforcement," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(5), pages 834-860, October.
    10. Haiyong Zhang & Xinyu Wang, 2017. "Combined asymmetric spatial weights matrix with application to housing prices," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(13), pages 2337-2353, October.
    11. Jon Bakija & Joel Slemrod, 2004. "Do the Rich Flee from High State Taxes? Evidence from Federal Estate Tax Returns," Department of Economics Working Papers 2004-12, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    12. Gregory M. Randolph & Michael T. Tasto, 2012. "Special Interest Group Formation in the United States: Do Special Interest Groups Mirror the Success of their Spatial Neighbors?," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 119-134, July.
    13. Jonathan C. Rork & Gary A. Wagner, 2009. "Reciprocity and Competition: Is There a Connection?," Working Papers 2009/1, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    14. Longjin Chen, 2021. "Tax enforcement interactions among Chinese provinces: A frontier and spatial analysis," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 332-348, March.
    15. Wojciech Kopczuk, 2012. "Taxation of Intergenerational Transfers and Wealth," NBER Working Papers 18584, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Ben Brewer & Karen Smith Conway & Jonathan C. Rork, 2022. "Do income tax breaks for the elderly affect economic growth?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(1), pages 7-27, January.
    17. Marius Brülhart & Raphaël Parchet, 2010. "Alleged Tax Competition: The Mysterious Death of InheritanceTaxes in Switzerland," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 10.04, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    18. Ivo Bischoff & Nataliya Kusa, 2016. "Should wealth transfers be taxed? Citizens’ view on a fundamental question," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201636, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    19. Luca Salvadori & José María Durán-Cabré & Alejandro Esteller-Moré, 2012. "Regional Competition On Tax Administration," ERSA conference papers ersa12p184, European Regional Science Association.
    20. Conway, Karen Smith & Rork, Jonathan C., 2012. "No Country for Old Men (Or Women) — Do State Tax Policies Drive Away the Elderly?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(2), pages 313-356, June.
    21. Hawley, Zackary & Rork, Jonathan C., 2015. "Competition and property tax limit overrides: Revisiting Massachusetts' Proposition 2½," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 93-107.
    22. Qu, Xi & Lee, Lung-fei, 2015. "Estimating a spatial autoregressive model with an endogenous spatial weight matrix," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 184(2), pages 209-232.
    23. Conway, Karen Smith & Rork, Jonathan C., 2012. "The Genesis of Senior Income Tax Breaks," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 1043-1068, December.
    24. Karen Smith Conway & Jonathan C. Rork, 2008. "Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly," Public Finance Review, , vol. 36(5), pages 523-562, September.
    25. Jonathan C. Rork & Gary A. Wagner, 2012. "Is There a Connection Between Reciprocity and Tax Competition?," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(1), pages 86-115, January.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making

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