Behavioral Responses to State Income Taxation of High Earners: Evidence from California
利用行政数据,研究了2012年加州第30号提案对高收入家庭边际税率提高3个百分点的影响,发现高收入者通过迁移和调整收入来应对,导致州税收收入在第一年流失45.2%。
Using administrative data, we analyze the response to Proposition 30, a 2012 measure that increased California marginal tax rates by up to 3 percentage points for high-income households. Relative to baseline departure rates, an additional 0.8 percent of the residential tax base that landed in the top bracket left California in 2013. Using matched out-of-state taxpayers as controls reveals an income elasticity with respect to the marginal net-of-tax rate of 2.5–3.2 for high earners who stayed. These responses eroded 45.2 percent of state windfall tax revenues within the first year and 60.9 percent within 2 years, driven largely by the intensive margin.