Capital Taxation in the 21st Century

Alan Auerbach and Kevin Hassett

No 20871, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In his influential book, Capital in the 21st Century, Thomas Piketty argues forcefully that rising wealth and wealth inequality is an inherent characteristic of capitalist economies and calls for strong policy responses, in particular a substantial wealth tax implemented globally. This paper takes issue with the facts, logic, and policy conclusions in Piketty’s book, suggesting that the factors needed to support the inexorable rise in capital’s share and concentration are lacking and that among tax policy reforms aimed at dealing with economic inequality a wealth tax finds little support either in Piketty’s own work or elsewhere in the literature.

JEL-codes: H21 P17 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-hpe, nep-pbe and nep-pub
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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