The incidence of the corporate tax

Most analysts believe that capital owners bear a major share of the burden of the corporate tax. Because capital income is concentrated among high-income individuals, the corporate tax is a highly progressive revenue source. Mainstream views on who pays the corporate income tax have evolved over time, reflecting new analytical approaches and changes in the economy. Increased international mobility of capital over the past few decades has increased the share of burden analysts assign to labor income, reflecting the increased ability of corporate capital to move overseas to shift the tax burden to less mobile factors of production. But the growth in the importance of intangible capital as a business asset has increased the share of profits that represent economic rent instead of the normal return needed to attract capital, thereby increasing the share of the tax paid by shareholders and other corporate stakeholders, such as top management.