The value of stock-based compensation is typically taxed as ordinary income to the employee at vesting, but subsequent gains on the stock are capital gains. I examine whether it is ever optimal for an employee to accelerate the payment of ordinary income tax in order for subsequent gains to be taxed at the lower capital gains rate. The employee may accomplish this, for example, by exercising a ...

The stock market participation rate for U.S. households with assets in both taxable and tax-deferred accounts is increasing with age in taxable accounts and decreasing with age in tax-deferred accounts. This paper asks whether a quantitative life-cycle model of portfolio choice can match these life-cycle patterns of stock market participation. The model incorporates several key features into a ...

The tax burden on equity securities has varied substantially since US federal income taxes were introduced in 1913. Taxes on equity securities vary over time due to changes in dividend and capital gains tax rates and due to changes in corporate payout policies. Equity taxes also vary across firms due to persistent differences in propensities to pay dividends. Despite the continuing policy debat...

This paper analyzes the effects of time-consistent capital taxation on the level of capital and welfare. We find that a commitment to a zero capital tax shifts the time inconsistency problem towards labor taxes and the provision of public consumption. By comparing the worst timeconsistent policies with and without a commitment to zero capital taxes, we find that the mere existence of a capital ...