3 Business in the United States Who Owns It, and How Much Tax Do They Pay?

• Published in: Tax policy and the economy Vol. 30; pp. 91 - 128
• Main Authors: Cooper, Michael, McClelland, John, Pearce, James, Prisinzano, Richard, Sullivan, Joseph, Yagan, Danny, Zidar, Owen, Zwick, Eric
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The University of Chicago Press 01.01.2016

“Pass-through” businesses like partnerships and S-corporations now generate over half of US business income and account for much of the post-1980 rise in the top-1% income share. We use administrative tax data from 2011 to identify pass-through business owners and estimate how much tax they pay. We...