Working Paper Series, Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies, Department of Economics, Uppsala University
No 2010:2:
Timing of death and the repeal of the Swedish inheritance tax
Marcus Eliason ()
and Henry Ohlsson ()
Abstract: Does taxation affect the timing of death? This is an
interesting example of how behavior might be affected by economic
incentives. We study how two changes in Swedish inheritance taxation
2003/04 and 2004/05 have affected mortality during the turns of the years.
Our first main result is that deceased with estates taxable for legal heirs
were 10 percentage points more likely to have died on New Year’s Day 2005,
from when the inheritance tax was repealed, rather than on New Year’s Eve
2004, compared to deceased without taxable estates for legal heirs. The
second main result is that deceased with estates taxable for a married
spouse were 12 percentage points more likely to have died on New Year’s Day
2004, from when the inheritance tax between spouses was repealed, rather
than on New Year’s Eve 2003, compared to deceased without taxable estates
for a married spouse.
Keywords: behavioral response to taxes; timing of death; estate tax; inheritance tax; tax avoidance; mortality; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: H24; H31; I12; (follow links to similar papers)
29 pages, March 26, 2010
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