Crossing Mountains: The Effect of Competition on the Laffer Curve

Abstract

Regarding states and state-like entities as producers and taxation as a price, this paper connects the thoroughly studied impacts of the market structures in microeconomics to the controversial Laffer curve, suggesting that the outcome of the “taxation market” depends also on competition. By studying the determinants for Property Tax revenue for the 308 Portuguese municipalities, a general model that successfully explains tax revenue is developed. Evidence is found for the existence of a two-peaked Laffer curve in the sample, and various tests indicate that competition impacts – shifting but also changing – the Laffer curve, causing more competitive municipalities to maximize revenue at lower tax rates – i.e. lower prices - than those in a more monopolistic setting.