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Les hauts revenus face aux modifications des taux marginaux supérieurs de l'impôt sur le revenu en France, 1970-1996

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  • Thomas Piketty

Abstract

[eng] High-Income Taxpayers' Reactions to Marginal Income Tax Rates Changes in France, 1970-1996 . by Thomas Piketty . This paper uses the main income tax law changes that occured in France over the 1 970- 1 996 period as " natural experiments " in order to estimate the elasticity of high-income taxpayers' taxable income with respect to marginal tax rates. Given the large pro-cyclicity of the very-high-income taxpayers' income share over the entire period, we use annual tax returns data about the level and composition of income within the top decile and the top centile of the taxpayers distribution of taxable income. The general conclusion is that the relatively large changes in top marginal income tax rates (both in 1981-1982 and 1 986- 1 987) - did not induce any important structural change in the distribution. The distribution of taxable income among high-income taxpayers is extremly stable in France over the entire 1970-1996 period, and short-term fluctuations are better explained by the business cycle than by tax-induced behavioral changes. [fre] Les hauts revenus face aux modifications des taux marginaux supérieurs de l'impôt sur le revenu . en France, 1970-1996 par Thomas Piketty . Cet article utilise les principales réformes de l'impôt sur le revenu en France durant les 25 dernières années comme des " expériences naturelles " permettant d'estimer l'élasticité du revenu imposable. Afin de prendre en compte la très forte pro-cyclicité des hauts revenus, nous étudions les variations annuelles observées pour les différents centiles de revenu imposable sur l'ensemble de la période 1970-1996, et nous exploitons notamment le fait que la mise en place du mécanisme de plafonnement des effets du quotient familial en 1981 et 1986 a conduit à des variations très contrastées des taux marginaux applicables à des contribuables ayant le même niveau de revenu mais des situations familiales légèrement différentes. Nous estimons des élasticités maximales de l'ordre de 0,1-0,2, c'est-à-dire des élasticités sensiblement inférieures aux niveaux requis pour que des baisses des taux marginaux supérieurs de l'IR puissent être auto-financées.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Piketty, 1999. "Les hauts revenus face aux modifications des taux marginaux supérieurs de l'impôt sur le revenu en France, 1970-1996," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 138(2), pages 25-60.
    • Handle: RePEc:prs:ecoprv:ecop_0249-4744_1999_num_138_2_5958
    DOI: 10.3406/ecop.1999.5958
    Note: DOI:10.3406/ecop.1999.5958
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    1. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7lfmtcll678th9ldbi6o2t0onk is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Lefebvre, Marie-Noëlle & Lehmann, Etienne & Sicsic, Michaël, 2022. "Estimating the Laffer Tax Rate on Capital Income: Cross-base Responses Matter!," CEPR Discussion Papers 17540, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. François Bourguignon & Amedeo Spadaro, 2012. "Tax–benefit revealed social preferences," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 10(1), pages 75-108, March.
    4. repec:aia:aiaswp:wp14 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7lfmtcll678th9ldbi6o2t0onk is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Pierre-Yves Cabannes & Cédric Houdré & Camille Landais, 2014. "Comment le revenu imposable des ménages réagit-il à sa taxation? Une estimation sur la période 1997-2004," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 467(1), pages 141-162.
    7. Emmanuel Saez & Joel Slemrod & Seth H. Giertz, 2012. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 3-50, March.
    8. Michaël Sicsic, 2022. "Does labour income react more to income tax or means‐tested benefits reforms?," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(3), pages 291-319, September.
    9. Tony Atkinson, 2002. "Top Incomes in the United Kingdom Over the Twentieth Century," Economics Series Working Papers 2002-W43, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    10. Johannes Hermanus Kemp, 2020. "The elasticity of taxable income: New data and estimates for South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-29, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Emmanuel Saez, 2004. "Reported Incomes and Marginal Tax Rates, 1960–2000: Evidence and Policy Implications," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 18, pages 117-174, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Clément Carbonnier, 2014. "The influence of taxes on employment of married women, evidence from the French joint income tax system," Working Papers hal-03460526, HAL.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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