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Optimal Progressivity with Age-Dependent Taxation

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  • Jonathan Heathcote
  • Kjetil Storesletten
  • Giovanni L. Violante

Abstract

This paper studies optimal taxation of labor earnings when the degree of tax progressivity is allowed to vary with age. We analyze this question in a tractable equilibrium overlapping-generations model that incorporates a number of salient trade-offs in tax design. Tax progressivity provides insurance against ex-ante heterogeneity and earnings uncertainty that missing markets fail to deliver. However, taxes distort labor supply and human capital investments. Uninsurable risk cumulates over the life cycle, and thus the welfare gains from income compression via progressive taxation increase with age. On the other hand, average labor productivity rises with age, and thus the welfare losses from progressive taxation's distortionary impact on labor supply also increase with age. The optimal age-varying system balances these distortions. In a calibrated version of the economy, we quantify the welfare gains of moving from the optimal age-invariant to the optimal age-dependent system and find that they are negligible.

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  • Jonathan Heathcote & Kjetil Storesletten & Giovanni L. Violante, 2017. "Optimal Progressivity with Age-Dependent Taxation," Staff Report 551, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedmsr:551
    DOI: 10.21034/sr.551
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    Cited by:

    1. Stefanie Stantcheva, 2020. "Dynamic Taxation," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 801-831, August.
    2. Gustafsson, Johan, 2024. "Favorable tax treatment of older workers in general equilibrium," Umeå Economic Studies 1023, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    3. Ortigueira, Salvador & Siassi, Nawid, 2023. "On the optimal reform of income support for single parents," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    4. Boháček, Radim & Kejak, Michal, 2018. "Optimal government policies in models with heterogeneous agents," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 834-858.
    5. Di Nola, Alessandro & Kocharkov, Georgi & Scholl, Almuth & Tkhir, Anna-Mariia & Wang, Haomin, 2022. "Taxation of Top Incomes and Tax Avoidance," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264016, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Aleh Tsyvinski & Nicolas Werquin, 2017. "Generalized Compensation Principle," NBER Working Papers 23509, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Svetlana Pashchenko & Ponpoje (Poe) Porapakkarm & Mariacristina De Nardi, 2017. "The Lifetime Costs of Bad Health," 2017 Meeting Papers 533, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    8. Francesca Parodi, 2023. "Taxation of Consumption and Labor Income: A Quantitative Approach," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 177-216, October.
    9. Brant Abbott, 2022. "Incomplete Markets and Parental Investments in Children," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 44, pages 104-124, April.
    10. Rauh, Christopher & Rodrigues dos Santos, Marcelo, 2022. "How do transfers and universal basic income impact the labor market and inequality?," CEPR Discussion Papers 16993, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Brant Abbott, 2022. "Incomplete Markets and Parental Investments in Children," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 44, pages 104-124, April.
    12. De Dominicis, Piero, 2020. "Routinization and Covid-19: a comparison between United States and Portugal," MPRA Paper 101003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Chung Tran & Nabeeh Zakariyya, 2023. "Progressive Pension and Optimal Tax Progressivity," ANU Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics 2023-691, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics.
    14. Uribe-Terán, Carlos, 2021. "Higher taxes at the top? The role of tax avoidance," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    15. Yu, Zhixiu, 2024. "Why are older men working more? The role of social security," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    16. Grancini, Stefano, 2021. "Risk Aversion and Fiscal Consolidation Programs," MPRA Paper 105500, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Abdoulaye Ndiaye, 2017. "Flexible Retirement and Optimal Taxation," Working Paper Series WP-2018-18, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    18. da Costa, Carlos E. & Santos, Marcelo R., 2023. "Progressive consumption taxes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    19. Vedor, Bernardo, 2022. "Investment-Specific Technological Change and Universal Basic Income in the U.S," MPRA Paper 111675, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Louis Kaplow, 2022. "Optimal Income Taxation," NBER Working Papers 30199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. soyoung Lee, 2018. "The Role of Firm Heterogeneity in the Earnings Inequality," 2018 Meeting Papers 1155, Society for Economic Dynamics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Government expenditures; Partial insurance; Labor supply; Skill investment; Tax progressivity; Tagging; Income distribution; Welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General

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