Optimal Dual-Regime Business Tax Systems

• In Event: Optimal Capital and Firm Taxation

Abstract

Dual-regime business tax systems typically subject smaller firms to an output (turnover) tax and larger firms to a profit (corporate) tax. Despite their prevalence, there is little formal analysis of their optimal design. This paper addresses this gap by developing a theoretical framework to analyze the optimal tax parameters and the relative performance of two types of dual-regime systems: threshold and minimum tax systems. We show that either type of dual regime system can yield lower social costs than a single regime system. Using parameter values from recent empirical studies, we also show that a generalized minimum tax system we propose would outperform other dual regime systems under most parameter values. These findings carry important policy implications, particularly as many countries currently employ either threshold or minimum tax systems, but none have yet implemented a generalized minimum tax.

Authors

• Rishi Sharma, Colgate University

• Joel Slemrod, Office of Tax Policy Research, University of Michigan

• Michael Stimmelmayr, University of Bath

• John Wilson, Department of Economics, Michigan State University

• Peter Choi, peterjc@umich.edu