Inflation and the Taxation of Capital Income in the Corporate Sector

Abstract

This detailed examination of the effect of inflation on the taxation of capital used by nonfinancial corporations considers not only the tax paid by the corporations them- selves but also the tax paid by the individuals and institutions that provide capital to the corporate sector. Although corporations deduct nominal interest payments that exceed real interest, the additional taxes that lenders pay slightly exceed the tax saving by corporate borrowers. Our calculations indicate that inflation raised the 1977 tax burden on corporate sector capital income by more than $32 billion, a 50 percent increase in the total tax burden.