Are we taxing ourselves? How deliberation and experience shape voting on taxes

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

We let consumers vote on tax regimes in experimental markets. We test if taxes on sellers are more popular than taxes on consumers, i.e. on voters themselves, even if taxes on sellers are inefficiently high. Taxes on sellers are more popular if voters underestimate the extent of tax-shifting in the market. We show that inexperienced voters are prone to such a tax-shifting bias, that experience is an effective de-biasing mechanism, but that pre-vote deliberation about tax regimes makes initially held opinions more extreme rather than correct. Our results suggest that voting on taxes is prone to bias and that easy-to-interpret facts are needed to de-bias voters.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftJournal of Public Economics
Vol/bind95
Udgave nummer1
Sider (fra-til)164–176
Antal sider13
ISSN0047-2727
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2011

Bibliografisk note

JEL classification: C92, H22, D72

ID: 32136857