The Effect of Tax Price on Donations: Evidence from Canada

B-Tier
Journal: National Tax Journal
Year: 2023
Volume: 76
Issue: 2
Pages: 291 - 315

Authors (5)

Ross Hickey (University of British Columbia...) Brad Minaker (not in RePEc) A. Abigail Payne (University of Melbourne) Joanne Roberts (not in RePEc) Justin Smith (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.402 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study the efficacy of nonrefundable tax credits for charitable donations in Canada. Using an instrumental variables estimator with a large longitudinal administrative data set, we estimate the tax price elasticity of giving. We estimate the tax price elasticity of giving for all tax filers and within quintiles of the distribution of household income. Our full sample elasticity estimate is −1.9, but we find evidence of larger estimates at the bottom of the distribution near −3 and −4. At the top quintile, we estimate this elasticity closer to −1. We find evidence throughout the distribution of income that the response to tax price occurs on both the decision to give or not and how much to give.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:nattax:doi:10.1086/724588
Journal Field
Public
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-26