Why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United Kingdom
Despite high and rising levels of wealth inequality, many advanced democracies have cut taxes on inherited wealth in recent decades. To explain this puzzle, we argue that taxing inherited wealth is politically difficult because, paradoxically, the people who have the strongest material interest in h...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2024
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| _version_ | 1811141212842754048 |
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| author | Elkjaer, M Ansell, B Bokobza, L Cansunar, A Haslberger, M Nyrup, J |
| author_facet | Elkjaer, M Ansell, B Bokobza, L Cansunar, A Haslberger, M Nyrup, J |
| author_sort | Elkjaer, M |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Despite high and rising levels of wealth inequality, many advanced democracies have cut taxes on inherited
wealth in recent decades. To explain this puzzle, we argue that taxing inherited wealth is politically difficult
because, paradoxically, the people who have the strongest material interest in higher taxes, low-wealth renters,
are those least likely to express a clear opinion. Instead, the political terrain is shaped by the preferences of
homeowners, and their children, who have a strong material interest in lower inheritance taxes. Empirically, we
first evaluate this argument using original survey data from the United Kingdom. In two survey experiments,
we then examine how exposure to information influences views on inheritance taxation. While we find no
effect of providing statistical information about the distribution of housing wealth, preferences are influenced
by explanatory information that explicitly outlines the potential effects of inheritance taxation.
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| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:34:18Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:f3aea392-6325-486e-b4cd-31e9579654e7 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:34:18Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:f3aea392-6325-486e-b4cd-31e9579654e72024-09-06T16:04:16ZWhy is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United KingdomJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:f3aea392-6325-486e-b4cd-31e9579654e7EnglishSymplectic ElementsCambridge University Press2024Elkjaer, MAnsell, BBokobza, LCansunar, AHaslberger, MNyrup, JDespite high and rising levels of wealth inequality, many advanced democracies have cut taxes on inherited wealth in recent decades. To explain this puzzle, we argue that taxing inherited wealth is politically difficult because, paradoxically, the people who have the strongest material interest in higher taxes, low-wealth renters, are those least likely to express a clear opinion. Instead, the political terrain is shaped by the preferences of homeowners, and their children, who have a strong material interest in lower inheritance taxes. Empirically, we first evaluate this argument using original survey data from the United Kingdom. In two survey experiments, we then examine how exposure to information influences views on inheritance taxation. While we find no effect of providing statistical information about the distribution of housing wealth, preferences are influenced by explanatory information that explicitly outlines the potential effects of inheritance taxation. |
| spellingShingle | Elkjaer, M Ansell, B Bokobza, L Cansunar, A Haslberger, M Nyrup, J Why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United Kingdom |
| title | Why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United Kingdom |
| title_full | Why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United Kingdom |
| title_fullStr | Why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United Kingdom |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United Kingdom |
| title_short | Why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality? Evidence from the United Kingdom |
| title_sort | why is it so hard to counteract wealth inequality evidence from the united kingdom |
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