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Consider a worker who is paid a wage of $20 per hour. The worker has a disutilit

ID: 1246221 • Letter: C

Question

Consider a worker who is paid a wage of $20 per hour. The worker has a disutility h^2 of working h hours. Assume that the worker faces a tax rate t. Thus, his net (after-tax wage rate is $20 (1 - t)). (i) How many hours will the worker work if his objective is to maximize net income minus disutility of work, i.e., he wants to maximize 20(1-t)h-h^2. (ii) Given your answer to part (i), what is the total tax revenue from a tax rate of t? (iii) Suppose that the initial tax rate is t1 = 0:7. Consider a tax reform that reduces t to t2 = 0:6. What is the change in revenue following the change from t1 to t2?

Explanation / Answer

Worker's wage = $20 per hour.

Net income = $20(1-t) t is the tax

disutility is h hours.

Worker needs to work for 8 hours per day to maximize his net income - disutility of work.

Tax revenue will be $20t

The change in revenue will be clear only when the worker starts spending more time on work.