Individuals’ responsiveness to marginal tax rates: Evidence from bunching in the Australian personal income tax
利用2000-2018年澳大利亚全部纳税人记录，发现个人收入在税率拐点处显著聚集，工资收入者应税收入弹性近乎零，自雇者弹性为0.23，且已婚女性、有子女女性、年轻人和家庭内收入转移机会多者反应更大。
We examine individuals’ responsiveness to marginal tax rates using the universe of Australian taxpayer records from 2000 to 2018. Unlike studies from other countries, we find sharp bunching at all kink points. The estimated Elasticities of Taxable Income (ETI) range from effectively zero for wage earners to 0.23 for self-employed individuals. There is substantial heterogeneity in responses to changes in marginal tax rates across subgroups, with higher elasticities for married females, females with children, younger individuals, and those with greater opportunity to shift income within the household. Our findings suggest that individuals’ responsiveness is a function of the marginal tax rates and the tax system's structure and administration.