MENTAL ACCOUNTING EFFECTS OF INCOME TAX SHIFTING

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Feldman, Naomi E.
• 署名单位: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest.2009.11892
• 发表日期: 2010-02
• 页码: 70-86
• 关键词: household consumption; consumer response; MODEL

摘要

This paper analyzes a 1992 decrease in U.S. federal income tax withholding that shifted the timing of income tax payments while leaving ultimate tax burdens unchanged. Consequently income typically received as a lump-sum refund on filing a tax return was shifted into the previous year's monthly income. This paper considers the impact of the withholding change in the context of mental accounting and finds a decrease in the probability that households contributed to a tax-preferred retirement account. Additional robustness tests show that short-term saving did not simultaneously increase and that the main findings are not driven by liquidity constraints.