How is the optimal level of Pigouvian taxation influenced by distributive concerns? With second-best instruments, a higher level of income redistribution calls for a lower level of Pigouvian taxation. More redistribution implies higher distortions from income taxation. Pigouvian tax revenues...

It is often argued that without tax-exemptions for the production sector environmental tax reforms substantially reduce profits and endanger employment. We challenge this view and investigate the consequences of both a small and alarge tax reform in the case of a monopoly. We show that these...

The European Commission is evaluating the performance of the common VAT, which has many shortcomings. The numerous exemptions and differentiated rate structures violate the logic and functionality of the VAT. The exemptions distort input choices and outsourcing policies. Reduced rates are...

This paper deals with optimal income and commodity taxation in an economy, where alcohol is an externality-generating consumption good. In our model, alcohol can be bought domestically, imported, or produced illegally. Border trade alone implies an incentive to set the domestic alcohol tax below...

This paper extends the previous literature on optimal redistributive taxation in the presence of externalities to a multiexternality setting. While taxes on income and on 'clean' commodities are still unaffected by the externalities, which confirms previous results, I find that the existence of...

An empirically based simulation model consisting of a representative consumer is constructed and calibrated, for the purpose of finding optimal commodity taxes for Norway. The model includes endogenous labor supply and cross-border shopping. Focusing on commodities exposed to cross-border...

This paper presents a general-equilibrium model of environmental tax reform that introduces a health status depending on environmental quality and medical consumption, and tax deductions for medical expenditure. It distinguishes between two types of health effect: environmentally and medically...

Is it a sheer coincidence that the egalitarian Scandinavian countries have significantly larger government employment shares than the much less egalitarian United States? A positive correlation between equality and government employment share in the OECD indicates that it is not a coincidence....

This paper derives and examines the provision rule for public inputs within a two-class framework of optimal income taxation. If income redistribution policies must be designed under a self-selection constraint because the ability of any particular worker is private information, public input...

This paper deals with public provision of a private good in a two-type model with optimal nonlinear income taxation. We assume that the wage rates are determined by bargaining between unions and firms, meaning that the equilibrium is characterized by unemployment. The results show that imperfect...