This study provides the first econometric analysis of the effect of taxation on the realization of capital gains. The analysis thus extends and complements the earlier study by Feldstein and Yitzhaki [1978] of the effect of taxation on the selling of corporate stock. The present analysis, using a large, new body of data obtained from individual tax returns, supports the earlier finding that corporate stock sales are quite sensitive to tax rates and then shows that the effect on the realization of capital gains is even stronger.

Extending the traditional treatment of the corporate tax to an economy with a progressive personal tax fundamentally changes the analysis. While the corporate tax system (CTS) does increase the total tax rate on corporate source income for some investors, the exclusion of retained earnings implies that the CTS lowers the tax rate for high-income investors. Analyzing such an economy requires replacing the traditional "equal-yield" equilibrium condition with a more general portfolio balance model. In this model, introducing a CTS can actually increase the corporate share of the capital stock even though the relative tax rate on corporate income rises.

Extending the traditional treatment of the corporate tax to an economy with a progressive personal tax fundamentally changes the analysis. While the corporate tax system (CTS) does increase the total tax rate on corporate source income for some investors, the exclusion of retained earnings implies that the CTS lowers the tax rate for high-income investors. Analyzing such an economy requires replacing the traditional "equal-yield" equilibrium condition with a more general portfolio balance model. In this model, introducing a CTS can actually increase the corporate share of the capital stock even though the relative tax rate on corporate income rises.