Changes in the tax mix from income taxation to GST: Revenue and redistribution

Abstract

This paper examines the conditions under which a partial shift from a multi-step personal income tax structure towards a general consumption tax can be both revenue-neutral and distribution-neutral, in a cross-sectional context. In the absence of a tax-free-threshold, this can be achieved with a broad-based consumption tax, or one in which, at each income level, the proportion of taxed expenditure is independent of total expenditure. Such a change, involving a smaller percentage reduction in the higher marginal tax rates, is also shown to increase labour supply in a simple continuous-hours model.