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Free keywords:
D63, H21
Optimal Income Taxation, Utilitarian Welfare Maximization, Redistribution
Abstract:
<p>The paper provides a new formulation of the Mirrlees-Seade theorem on the positivity of the optimal marginal income tax, under weaker assumptions and in a more general model. The formulation of the theorem is independent of whether the model involves finitely many types or a continuous type distribution. The formal argument makes the underlying logic transparent, relating the mathematics to the economics and showing precisely how each assumption enters the analysis.</p>
