The economics of wealth transfer tax

Helmuth Cremer and Pierre Pestieau

No 2010030, LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE from Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE)

Abstract: This paper discusses the merits of wealth transfer taxation on both efficiency and equity grounds. It first deals with the popular debate that is dominated by American economists. This debate concerns the US estate tax, which is one, among many, types of wealth transfer tax. After addressing the main issues prevailing in this debate and discussing the lack of popular support for such tax, the paper adopts a more theoretical approach to explore the pluses and the minuses of a wealth transfer tax. The main point is that the desirability of a wealth transfer tax depends on the motives of wealth accumulation and transmission.

Keywords: estate tax; inheritance tax; bequest motives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H21 H24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-06-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-pbe and nep-pub
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cor:louvco:2010030

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