What are the Barriers to Taxing Wealth? The Case of a Wealth Tax Proposal in the UK

Prabhakar, Rajiv

doi:10.1017/s0047279421000891

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 32 publications

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“…Despite various policies introduced to improve social mobility, such as the expansion of higher education that began in the 1960s in the U.K., and more recently targeted policies to help young people access homeownership such as Help to Buy, our findings suggest family background has only become more important in determining offspring wealth. Researchers have recently reconsidered the role wealth taxes could play in improving wealth inequality, or alternatively reforming certain regressive or inefficient elements of a country's tax system, in the U.K. this includes inheritance, certain elements of capital gains and council tax (Glennerster, 2012;Advani, Chamberlain, et al, 2020;Advani et al, 2021;Prabhakar, 2021). A wealth tax, given its inherent nature, will draw strong opinion both in public and policy settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental homeownership and education: the implications for offspring wealth inequality in Great Britain

Gregg,

Kanabar

2023

J. Soc. Pol.

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The rapid widening of wealth inequalities has led to sharp differences in living standards in Great Britain. Understanding whether and separately the rate at which individuals accumulate particular types of wealth by family background is important for improving wealth and social mobility. We show offspring wealth inequality is driven by housing wealth, and holding such wealth is becoming increasingly associated with early life circumstances relating to parental housing tenure and education, even after controlling for adult offspring’s own characteristics. Importantly, we find adult offspring whose parents hold a degree and are homeowners are no less likely to report homeownership and housing wealth compared to older cohorts from the same background. Our findings infer the intergenerational rank correlation in housing wealth is set to double in approximately three decades.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental homeownership and education: the implications for offspring wealth inequality in Great Britain

Gregg,

Kanabar

2023

J. Soc. Pol.

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Tax principles, policy feedback and self-interest: cross-national experimental evidence on wealth tax preferences

Schechtl

Tisch

2023

Socio-Economic Review

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Rising wealth inequality and squeezed public budgets has brought wealth tax back into policy discussions. A net wealth tax might help to boost state revenue and reduce wealth inequality. Yet little is known about citizens’ attitudes towards the design of a net wealth tax (i.e. the tax unit, exemption and rate). Using a novel multifactorial survey experiment, we examine citizens’ endorsement of fundamental principles of taxation. Building on policy feedback theory, we examine if preferences differ in three policy arenas (USA, Germany and UK) and whether individuals’ reasoning is dependent on self-interest. While a clear majority in all three countries generally endorses a wealth tax, our findings show that citizens care more about the amount exempted than the tax unit or rate. We do not identify a preference for any specific tax unit. Furthermore, tax preferences seem to be strikingly similar among citizens of all three countries. Yet we show that individuals are mostly concerned about not being personally affected by such a tax, which is reflected in their preference for substantial exemptions. We discuss our findings with regard to our understanding of wealth inequality, tax equity and the potential implications for policymakers.

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Taxonomy of wealth taxation literature: A study of implementation, effects, responses and regulatory policy context

Ola

2024

JGR

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This paper presents a systematic review of wealth tax literature examining the challenges of wealth taxes for countries that have implemented and repealed them. We comprehensively analyzed 96 papers published in 14 reputable journals from 2000 to 2023. These papers are classified into three primary thematic areas: wealth tax implementation, effects of wealth tax (EWT), and taxpayer behavioral responses (BRT). We find that most countries that have implemented wealth taxes face challenges of accurate valuation of net worth (NW) and assets and high administrative costs (ADCs) due to the high ADCs associated with implementing and enforcing wealth taxes and double taxation. The implication of the results is to enhance understanding of the challenges influencing wealth tax implementation for researchers and policymakers and also bridge historical experiences into the present context, offering practical guidance for the United States of America (USA) states considering wealth tax adoption, thereby supporting their decision-making process.

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What are the Barriers to Taxing Wealth? The Case of a Wealth Tax Proposal in the UK

Cited by 3 publications

References 32 publications

Parental homeownership and education: the implications for offspring wealth inequality in Great Britain

Parental homeownership and education: the implications for offspring wealth inequality in Great Britain

Tax principles, policy feedback and self-interest: cross-national experimental evidence on wealth tax preferences

Taxonomy of wealth taxation literature: A study of implementation, effects, responses and regulatory policy context

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