title:
Why don't we tax the rich? : inequality, legislative malapportionment, and personal income taxation around the world
creator:
Ardanaz, Martín.
contributor:
Scartascini, Carlos G., 1971-; Inter-American Development Bank. Research Dept.
publisher:
Inter-American Development Bank, IDB
date:
Record modified: 2012-06-14
date:
Record created: 2012-01-30
date:
2011
description:
Extent: 43 p. : ill, digital, PDF file.
description:
Abstract: Why does personal income taxation remain relatively low in many developing countries despite a period of democratic advancement and rapid economic growth? This stylized fact is hard to reconcile with standard political economy models of taxation that expect democratic regimes to bring about redistribution under high inequality contexts. This paper argues that the details of political institutions are key to understanding why personal income taxation remains low in many developing and unequal countries. In particular, we show how legislative malapportionment enables rich elites to have a disproportionate influence on politics relative to their numbers, and serves as a tool to preserve their economic interests in a democracy. Because over-represented districts tend to be dominated by parties aligned with the elite, these groups are able to block attempts at introducing progressive taxes in the legislative arena. Based on a sample of more than 50 countries\n (including 17 across Latin America) between 1990 and 2007 this paper finds that i) countries with historically more unequal distributions of wealth and income tend to systematically present higher levels of legislative malapportionment, and ii) higher levels of malapportionment are associated with lower shares of personal income taxes in GDP.
subject:
Rich people--Taxation
subject:
Income tax
subject:
Fiscal policy
subject:
Taxation
relation:
OCLC No.: 764650417
relation:
Mode of access: World Wide Web.; System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
relation:
Is part of: IDB working paper series ; 282; IDB working paper series ; 282; IDB working paper series ; IDB-WP-282; Inter-American Development Bank working paper series ; 282; Inter-American Development Bank working paper series ; IDB-WP-282
type:
application/pdf
type:
Text
type:
PDF-1.6
source:
http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=36555179
language:
eng
rights:
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identifier:
getdocument
