Arbeitspapier
More Giving or More Givers? The Effects of Tax Incentives on Charitable Donations in the UK
This paper estimates the effects of tax incentives on charitable contributions in the UK, using the universe of self-assessment income tax returns between 2005 and 2013. We exploit variation from a large reform in 2010 to estimate intensive and extensive-margin tax-price elasticities of giving. Using a predicted-tax-rate instrument for the price of giving relative to consumption, we find an intensive-margin elasticity of about -0.2 and an extensive-margin elasticity of -0.1, yielding a total elasticity of about -0.3. To further explore the extensive-margin response, we propose a model with a fixed cost of declaring donations and obtain a structural estimate of that cost of around £47. We also study the welfare effects of tax incentives, extending the theoretical literature to allow for extensive-margin giving and for a fixed cost of declaring donations. Taking into account these factors, there is a case for increasing the subsidy on charitable giving in the UK.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 7820
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Household
Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
- Subject
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charitable giving
tax incentives
welfare
- Event
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Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
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Almunia, Miguel
Guceri, Irem
Lockwood, Ben
Scharf, Kimberley Ann
Lockwood, Benjamin
- Event
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Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
- (where)
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Munich
- (when)
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2019
- Handle
- Last update
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10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Almunia, Miguel
- Guceri, Irem
- Lockwood, Ben
- Scharf, Kimberley Ann
- Lockwood, Benjamin
- Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
Time of origin
- 2019