Taxing Billionaires: Estate Taxes and the Geographical Location of the Ultra-Wealthy

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Moretti, Enrico; Wilson, Daniel J.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - San Francisco
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200685
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 424-466
• 关键词: top earners evidence; millionaire migration; UNITED-STATES; taxation; death; bequest

摘要

We contribute to the literature on the effect of taxes on the locational choices of wealthy individuals by examining the geographical sensitiv-ity of the Forbes 400 richest Americans to state estate taxes. Though we find billionaires'effective tax rates are only about half the statutory rate, their residential choices are highly sensitive to these taxes, as 35 percent of local billionaires leave states with an estate tax. This tax -in-duced mobility causes a large reduction in the aggregate tax base. Nonetheless, we find that the revenue benefit of an estate tax exceeds the cost for the vast majority of states.