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Suddenly Married: Joint Taxation And The Labor Supply Of Same-Sex Married Couples After U.S. v. Windsor

Author

Listed:
  • Elliott Isaac

    (Tulane University)

Abstract

Joint taxation can exacerbate the deadweight loss of taxation due to labor supply responses, but evidence is scarce. I estimate the efficiency costs and labor supply effects of joint taxation in the United States by leveraging tax variation created by federal same-sex marriage recognition following the 2013 United States v. Windsor Supreme Court ruling. I find moderate hours responses among primary earners and larger labor force participation responses among secondary earners. My findings suggest that joint taxation is less efficient and generates less tax revenue than individual taxation, and that lowering tax rates for secondary earners could improve efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:1809
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    File URL: http://econ.tulane.edu/RePEc/pdf/tul1809.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Scott M. Delhommer & Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2021. "Same‐Sex Couples and the Gains to Marriage: The Importance of the Legal Environment," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(4), pages 1120-1139, September.
    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. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Delhommer, Scott M. & Hamermesh, Daniel S., 2020. "Same-Sex Couples and the Marital Surplus: The Importance of the Legal Environment," IZA Discussion Papers 13061, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Johannes Koeckeis, 2022. "Intra-household inequality and tax planning of same-sex couples," GRAPE Working Papers 73, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    6. Clara E. Piano & Rachael Behr & Kacey Reeves West, 2024. "The supply and demand of marital contracts: the case of same-sex marriage," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 198(3), pages 237-268, March.
    7. Christopher S. Carpenter & Samuel T. Eppink & Gilbert Gonzales & Tara McKay, 2021. "Effects of Access to Legal Same‐Sex Marriage on Marriage and Health," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(2), pages 376-411, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    taxation; labor supply; same-sex marriage; sufficient statistics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General

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