It’s not a coordination mechanism; it doesn’t allow people to commit to giving money if and only if everyone else also gives money, as a tax does. Even if giving money was free (untaxed), the OP’s coordination problem would remain.
Actually it is, just a bit contrived. The penalty for violating the “commitment” is having to pay extra taxes (lose the tax break). Just a matter of labels.
I don’t understand your point. Paying taxes or not is not related to whether and how much other people also make charitable deductions. Bezos donating less or more doesn’t influence Gates donating less or more. What is the coordination mechanism?
In the first case, to avoid the penalty of being fined, you pay taxes.
In the second case, to avoid the penalty of being taxed, you don’t donate.
If I allow you to donate without being taxed, it doesn’t follow that you will donate. Maybe you don’t want to donate to begin with, or not unless everyone else does as well. That’s the model the OP assumes.
Tax rates on non-donation gifts (= marginal income taxes of the non-rich) are “only” a few tens of percents. For the OP’s model to work, he had to assume a ratio of 1:1,000,000 between the value to a noble of keeping or donating money. That’s as if there was a 99.999,999,9% tax rate on donations! If there was such a tax rate, then making donations tax-free would certainly stimulate a lot of donations. But as it is, under the OP’s general assumptions, tax rates of ~~ 30% should not much matter.
Actually it is, just a bit contrived. The penalty for violating the “commitment” is having to pay extra taxes (lose the tax break). Just a matter of labels.
I don’t understand your point. Paying taxes or not is not related to whether and how much other people also make charitable deductions. Bezos donating less or more doesn’t influence Gates donating less or more. What is the coordination mechanism?
The same way taxation is a coordination mechanism.
Taxation = social arrangement
Fines/prison sentence for tax evasion = enforcement mechanism
Charitable donation = social arrangement
Higher taxation = enforcement mechanism
I don’t see how that is applicable.
In the first case, to avoid the penalty of being fined, you pay taxes.
In the second case, to avoid the penalty of being taxed, you don’t donate.
If I allow you to donate without being taxed, it doesn’t follow that you will donate. Maybe you don’t want to donate to begin with, or not unless everyone else does as well. That’s the model the OP assumes.
Tax rates on non-donation gifts (= marginal income taxes of the non-rich) are “only” a few tens of percents. For the OP’s model to work, he had to assume a ratio of 1:1,000,000 between the value to a noble of keeping or donating money. That’s as if there was a 99.999,999,9% tax rate on donations! If there was such a tax rate, then making donations tax-free would certainly stimulate a lot of donations. But as it is, under the OP’s general assumptions, tax rates of ~~ 30% should not much matter.