Preference structures and the excess burden of income taxes in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this article is to estimate the excess burden associated with the personal income tax in Brazil. The study is based on a one-period utility maximization model of labor supply for urban prime-age male employees. The authors develop a sensitivity analysis based on two different specifications of preferences. Using an estimation procedure that considers the nonlinearity of the budget constraint, constraints on the choice of work hours, and possible measurement error, the authors find that the choice of functional form influences the results dramatically. Nonnested tests indicate that a linear expenditure system is more appropriate than the popular linear labor supply specification used in most labor supply studies. The results suggest that for the selected population subgroup, the deadweight loss of the personal income tax in Brazil is small.