Optimal tax the optimum. Stipulating this condition results in the following formula for the optimal top tax rate, if incomes are Pareto distributed: formula_1 where: Empirical estimation of the parameters of this equation suggests that the revenue-maximising top tax rate is between approximately 50% and 80%, although this estimate neglects long-run behavioural responses, which would imply higher elasticities and a lower optimal tax rate. Saez's analysis can also be generalised to tax rates other than the top rate. In the late 1970s, Arthur Laffer developed the Laffer curve, which demonstrates that there are two effects of changing tax rates: an arithmetic effect—if
Arthur Laffer Company funded by Tako Ventures, a funding arm of Larry Ellison. In 2008, Laffer joined the Board of Alpha Theory, a non-public Fundamental Portfolio Optimization software for hedge and mutual funds. Laffer recently joined the advisory board of Collabarium Capital. In 2010, Laffer joined the Boards of Executive Trading Solutions, an LLC providing the top technological solution for management of Rule 10b51 stock trading plans, and Consensus Point, a provider of an enterprise prediction markets platform. In 2015, Laffer joined the board of General Employment Enterprises, (JOB), a rapidly growing staffing company located in Illinois. Laffer has branched into writing