Tax Aversion, Laffer Curve, and the Self-financing of Tax Cuts

Self-financing of Tax Cuts

Explosive Hyperinflation, Inflation Tax Laffer Curve and Modeling the Use of Money∗

This paper analyzes the existence of an inflation tax Laffer curve (ITLC) in the context of two standard optimizing monetary models: a cash-in-advance model and a money in the utility function model. Agents’ preferences are characterized in the two models by a constant relative risk aversion utility function. Explosive hyperinflation rules out the presence of an ITLC. In the context of a cash-i...

Inflation Aversion and the Optimal Inflation Tax

The optimal inflation tax is reexamined in the framework of dynamic second best economy populated by individuals with inflation aversion. A simple formula for the optimal inflation rate is derived. Different from the literature, it is shown that if the marginal excess burden of other distorting taxes approaches zero, Friedman’s rule for optimum quantity of money is not optimal, and the optimal ...

A Tax Reform Analysis of the Laffer Argument

This paper shows that tax reform techniques are well-suited to an examination of the Laffer argument, i.e., the possibility that an increase in a tax rate may reduce tax revenues (and vice versa). Our methodology allows us to examine the Laffer argument directly, without deriving the Laffer curve, which in turn allows us to conduct the analysis in a very general setting. Despite the high level ...

Loss Aversion Motivates Tax Sheltering: Evidence From U.S. Tax Returns

This paper presents evidence that loss aversion affects taxpayers as they file their annual tax returns. I model the decisions of a loss-averse tax filer who may use tax shelters to manipulate the “balance due” exchanged with the IRS. I use this model to derive distinguishing predictions of loss aversion which facilitate its identification and quantification in the field. Under loss framing, th...