Authors:

  • N. Gregory Mankiw
  • Matthew Weinzierl

Excerpt

The Optimal Taxation of Height: A Case Study of Utilitarian Income Redistribution. N. Gregory Mankiw, Matthew Weinzierl, December 2007, Paper. "Should the income tax system include a tax credit for short taxpayers and a tax surcharge for tall ones? This paper shows that the standard Utilitarian framework for tax policy analysis answers this question in the affirmative. Moreover, based on the empirical distribution of height and wages, the optimal height tax is substantial: a tall person earning $50,000 should pay about $4,500 more in taxes than a short person earning the same income. This result has..." Link