We develop a model of how taxpayers update beliefs over their tax rates when they encounter a non-salient tax liability change. We test the model's hypotheses using the loss of the Child Tax Credit when a child turns 17. Because this tax liability change is lump-sum and predictable, there should...

Economic theory assumes that taxpayers use their true marginal tax rate (MTR) to guide their economic decisions. However, complexity of the personal income tax system implies that taxpayers may incorrectly perceive true marginal prices and incentives. We first develop an updating model that...

Because illiquid bonds may be relatively poorly priced, the ability to infer investor perceptions of changes in a banking organization's financial health from such bonds may be obscured. To examine the time-series effect of trading frequency on subordinated debt spreads, we consider the...

Several recent analyses have suggested that the revenue-maximizing corporate tax rate resides in the low-30's. We challenge this result by re-examining this relationship using a new compilation of changes in corporate tax base definitions for OECD countries between 1980 and 2004. By considering...

Several recent analyses have suggested that the revenue-maximizing corporate tax rate resides in the low-30’s. We challenge this result by re-examining this relationship using a new compilation of changes in corporate tax base definition for OECD countries between 1980 and 2004. By considering...

We use a panel of tax returns spanning 1999 to 2011 to provide new evidence on household experiences during unemployment. Unemployment is associated with roughly a 20% reduction in household wage earnings. Unemployment insurance compensates for half of these wage losses. Households also...

This paper uses tax return data from 1999 to 2009 to provide new estimates of wage losses during unemployment, and to examine how other types of income change dur- ing an unemployment spell. Periods of unemployment are associated with significant reductions in wage income, equivalent to...

This paper provides evidence that dividend and capital gains tax rates importantly influence household portfolio choices. Using data from the Surveys of Consumer Finances around the 2003 dividend tax reductions, I estimate the relationship between taxes and household portfolio dividend yields. I...

Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 200,000 homes and led to massive economic and physical dislocation. Using a panel of tax return data, we provide one of the first comprehensive analyses of the hurricane’s long-term economic impact on its victims. Katrina had large and persistent impacts...

This paper analyzes the effect of personal income taxation on the sensitivity of executive compensation to company performance and the use of stock option and restricted stock grants underlying this sensitivity. The theoretical model predicts that, if a single tax rate applies to the entire...