Preference for Redistribution Policies: The Case of Income Tax and Estate Tax

• Main Authors: Chen, Jui Yu, 陳瑞玉
• Other Authors: Chang, Wen Chun
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/84561453137246703235

碩士 === 國立臺北大學 === 財政學系 === 99 === In a market economy, income distribution is mainly the outcome of the labor market. Therefore, the income tax levied against earned income can be described as the core of redistribution policies. However, it is difficult to achieve the goal of the equalizing income distribution only from taxing hard work. In reality, both the income tax and the estate tax are the important policy tools for redistribution. Under the trend of free trade and globalization, economic growth often accompanies with the negative effects of widening income gap between rich and poor. As a result, it is highly concerned that whether the systems of income tax and estate tax can meet the objectives of fairness and justice, and whether they can be consistent with the people’s preferences. By using the data from the 2007 Taiwan Social Change Survey, this study investigates people’s preferences for redistribution polices for the cases of income tax and estate tax. Measured as the ratio of a family’s income to the median family income, the empirical results of this study suggest that the higher the relative income status of a household, the more supportive for a higher rate of estate tax. In addition, the amount of personal investment has a significantly negative relationship with the preferences for redistribution policies.