Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/260877 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 9747
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Married couples often face a different tax burden than cohabitating couples with the same income. I study the effect of joint income taxation of married couples on the marriage rate in Switzerland, where tax differentials between married and cohabitating couples vary considerably across cantons. I construct a dataset containing sociodemographic and -economic variables on every individual living in Switzerland, and use household-level information to identify cohabitating couples. Using a simulated instrumental variable approach, I find a negative impact of joint income taxation on the marriage rate for couples married between 2012 and 2019. The effect is driven by households without children and from the lower end of the income distribution.
Subjects: 
income taxation
marriage penalty
taxation of married couples
JEL: 
H24
H31
J12
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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