Lump Sum Tax Rate
A lump sum tax rate is a tax that is the same value for all who pay the tax. Lump sum taxes do not take into consideration who is paying the tax nor how much is being produced. A lump sum tax will produce the same level of tax revenue regardless of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) output.
A lump sum tax rate is a tax that is a constant value and its revenue remains the same across all levels of GDP.
A lump sum tax will yield the same amount of revenue regardless of GDP because it does not increase or decrease with the quantity produced. Say a town has ten shops. Each shop must pay a $10 fee to operate every month. It does not matter if the shop is open one day or every day that month, if fifty people buy something or no one does, or if the shop has 20 square feet or 20,000 square feet. The revenue from the lump sum tax will be $100 every month.
Fig. 1 - Lump Sum Tax as a portion of Income
Figure 1 pictures how a lump sum tax burdens taxpayers differently and affects their level of disposable income. Figure 1 shows us how a $100 lump sum tax can take up a significant portion of a low income making the tax burden high, while taking up a smaller portion of a higher income, lowering the tax burden there.
Since lump-sum taxes are the same rate regardless of income, they can affect those with a lower income more. A person or business with a lower income will have to devote a larger portion of their income to the lump sum tax. This is why smaller businesses tend to oppose lump-sum taxes and why they benefit larger organizations.
Lump Sum Tax: Efficiency
Lump sum taxes are widely considered the form of taxation that promotes the most economic efficiency. With a lump sum tax rate, producers are not "punished" for increasing their production by being subject to a higher tax bracket if they increase their revenue. Producers are also not taxed on each additional unit they produce as is the case with a per unit tax. The lump sum tax encourages efficiency because it does not affect how people behave since the lump sum tax does not change like a revenue-based or per unit tax.
This increased economic efficiency eliminates deadweight loss, which is the loss of combined consumer and producer surplus resulting from the misallocation of resources. As economic efficiency increases, deadweight loss decreases. Lump sum taxes also require minimal administrative attention on behalf of the government and the taxpayer. Because the tax is a straightforward value that does not vary depending on income or production, the focus lies on whether or not the tax has been paid rather than having to keep receipts and calculate if the correct amount has been paid.
Does deadweight loss seem a bit confusing? Not to worry, because we've got a great explanation for it here! - Deadweight Loss
Lump Sum Tax vs Proportional Tax
What is the difference between a lump sum tax vs proportional tax? A lump sum tax is when all those who pay the tax pay the same amount across the board. With a proportional tax, everyone pays the same percentage of tax, regardless of income.
A proportional tax is when the average rate or percentage of tax owed is the same regardless of the size of the income. They can also be referred to as flat taxes or flat rate taxes because their average rate does not vary depending on income levels.
With a proportional tax, everyone pays the same proportion of their income in tax whereas with a lump sum everyone pays the same amount of tax. Maybe an example for each type of tax would help.
Lump Sum Tax Example
Mary has her own dairy farm with 10 cows who produce 60 gallons of milk per day all together. Mary's neighbor, Jamie, has a dairy farm too. Jamie has 200 cows and produces 1,200 gallons of milk per day. The cows are milked every day. Each gallon sells for $3.25, meaning Mary earns $195 per day and Jamie earns $3,900 per day.
In her country, all dairy farmers have to pay a $500 tax per month so that they can produce and sell their milk.
Under the lump sum tax, both Mary and Jamie pay the same $500 tax, even though Jamie produces and earns significantly more than Mary. Mary spends 8.55% of her monthly income on the tax while Jamie only spends 0.43% of her monthly income on the tax.
If we compare how much Mary and Jamie each spend in taxes, we can see how the lump sum tax is often criticized as unfair, especially by those lower income or smaller producers who end up paying a larger percentage of their income in tax. However, this example also demonstrates how a lump sum tax may encourage economic efficiency. Jamie's tax burden does not increase nor even remain constant the more they produce. Their tax burden actually decreases the more they produce, which incentivizes businesses to become more efficient in their production because they can keep more of their profits.
Lump Sum Tax: Proportional Tax
Now, let's have a look at a proportional tax so that we can better understand how it differs from a lump sum tax. Where a lump sum tax is the same quantity at all income levels, a proportional tax is the same percentage rate across all income levels.
Fig. 2 - How a proportional tax affects income
In Figure 2 we see how a proportional tax affects different levels of income. Regardless of low, middle, or high income, the tax required is the same portion of income. This method of taxation is often seen as more fair than a lump sum tax since it takes income or production into consideration and the tax burden is the same at varying levels of income.
The downside to a proportional tax is that it is less efficient since it produces deadweight loss when large producers are not driven towards economic efficiency as heavily as with the rewards of a lump sum tax.
Examples of Lump Sum Tax
Let's have a look at some examples of lump-sum taxes. One thing about lump-sum taxes is that they usually come paired with per-unit taxes or strict requirements to qualify.
The government of Whiskeyland wants to simplify and stabilize the tax revenue it collects from its whiskey producers. At the moment they are using a per unit tax that requires both the government and the business to keep track of how much whiskey was sold. It also doesn't exactly encourage producers to increase production since they have to give the government some of their revenue.
The new tax is a lump sum tax of $200 per month. This makes large producers that have already been paying that much in taxes happy since now any extra whisky that they produce is effectively tax-free. The smaller producers, however, are unhappy since they are now paying more taxes than they were before.
The example above shows how lump sum taxes can be unfair to smaller producers.
An example of lump sum taxes being used is the Swiss lump sum tax applied to foreign nationals living in but are not employed in Switzerland.
If you are a foreigner living in Switzerland and are not employed there, you might be eligible for this lump sum payment of taxes. The tax is calculated annually by taking into account the annual cost of living for regular Swiss taxpayers.1 Having this lump sum option available to those with no income keeps their taxes simple while also ensuring that they contribute to society. You no longer qualify for this tax if you become a swiss citizen or take a job in Switzerland.1
In 2009 this form of taxation in Switzerland came up for debate and was abolished or became subject to stricter regulation in several regions.1
Disadvantages of Lump Sum Tax
Let's look at some disadvantages of lump sum taxes. Although they might be beneficial for eliminating deadweight loss, increasing efficiency, and reducing administrative tasks, lump-sum taxes are not widely employed. The main disadvantage of lump-sum taxes is that they are unfair to smaller businesses and those with lower incomes. The tax burden is higher for those with a lower income since they pay a greater portion of their income in tax than wealthier people.
Tax systems typically weigh the trade-off between efficiency and equity. With any tax, it is difficult to have a tax that is both fair and encourages efficiency. A fairer tax like a proportional tax usually discourages people from producing at their highest potential since they are taxed on their level of production, making them less efficient. A lump sum tax is on the other end of promoting efficiency but is unfair.
Lump Sum Tax Formula
Another disadvantage of a lump sum tax is that it can be arbitrary, meaning that there is no formula or guide for setting them. For the taxpayers, it is not always clear why the tax is the amount that it is since it is not based on their production capabilities or income. Again, this might not matter to wealthier producers but it can be problematic for those with a lower income, especially if the taxes are adjusted every year and the amount of tax is subject to change, like how Switzerland adjusts its lump sum tax annually.
Lump Sum Tax - Key takeaways
- A lump-sum tax is a tax whose value does not change and brings in the same level of revenue at all levels of GDP.
- Since lump-sum taxes are the same for all those they apply to, lower-income taxpayers are affected more because they pay a larger portion of their income in tax.
- A lump-sum tax is efficient because the amount people pay in tax does not change depending on how much they choose to produce, so they are not "punished" for producing more.
- A proportional tax is a tax whose amount is proportional to the amount of income or the amount produced.
- A disadvantage of lump-sum taxes is their unfair nature by placing a higher tax burden on those with a lower income.
References
- Federal Department of Finance, Lump-sum taxation, August 2022, https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/en/home/taxes/national-taxation/lump-sum-taxation.html
Frequently Asked Questions about Lump Sum Tax
What is lump sum tax?
A lump sum tax is a tax that is a constant value and its revenue remains the same across all levels of GDP.
What do lump-sum taxes affect?
Lump-sum taxes affect the amount of disposable income people have. They mostly affect those with a lower income since they have to pay the a bigger portion of their income in taxes than wealthier people.
Why is a lump sum tax efficient?
A lump sum tax is efficient because it eliminates deadweight loss since people pay the same amount of tax regardless of how much they produce.
What is lump-sum tax example?
An example of a lump sum tax is Switzerland's tax on foreigners living there who do not earn an income in Switzerland. They pay a lump sum in taxes that is determined by the annual cost of living for that year.
Why are lump-sum taxes unfair?
Lump sum taxes are unfair because the tax burden for those with a lower income is higher than for those with more money since poorer people end up paying a higher proportion of their income in tax.
