The optimal taxation of height
Subtitle: a case study of utilitarian income redistribution
By: N. Gregory Mankiw, Matther Weinzierl
Contributors: Harvard Business School
Series: Working paper / Harvard Business School -- 09-139; Working paper (Harvard Business School) -- 09-139.
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Published: 2009
Place of publication: [Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 15
Description: Should the income tax include a credit for short taxpayers and a surcharge for tall ones? The standard Utilitarian framework for tax analysis answers this question in the affirmative. Moreover, a plausible parameterization using data on height and wages implies a substantial height tax: a tall person earning $50,000 should pay $4,500 more in tax than a short person. One interpretation is that personal attributes correlated with wages should be considered more widely for determining taxes. Alternatively, if policies such as a height tax are rejected, then the standard Utilitarian framework must fail to capture intuitive notions of distributive justice.
Notes: " 2009"--Publisher's website.

Includes bibliographical references.