July 2024

Tax Heterogeneity and Misallocation

Baris Kaymak and Immo Schott

Abstract:

There is substantial asymmetry in effective corporate income tax rates across firms. While tax asymmetries would reduce productivity in frictionless economies, they can improve efficiency in a distorted economy if taxes alleviate other economic frictions. We develop a framework to estimate to what extent tax asymmetries affect productivity in distorted economies. Using US firm-level balance sheet data alongside measures of effective marginal tax rates, we find a positive correlation between tax rates and factor productivity, suggesting that tax asymmetry exacerbates the distortions from other economic frictions. Eliminating tax rate asymmetries would raise aggregate productivity by 3 to 4 percent if taxes distort capital costs alone. Models where taxes also distort the marginal cost of labor predict potential gains as high as 9 percent.

Keywords: Business taxation, Aggregate productivity, TFP, Misallocation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17016/.IFDP.2024.1393

PDF: Full Paper

Related Materials: Accessible materials (.zip)

Disclaimer: The economic research that is linked from this page represents the views of the authors and does not indicate concurrence either by other members of the Board's staff or by the Board of Governors. The economic research and their conclusions are often preliminary and are circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The Board values having a staff that conducts research on a wide range of economic topics and that explores a diverse array of perspectives on those topics. The resulting conversations in academia, the economic policy community, and the broader public are important to sharpening our collective thinking.

Back to Top
Last Update: July 19, 2024