The 1986 Tax Reform Act (TRA) had little effect on the overall U.S. ef
fective capital income tax rate. However, TRA significantly reduced di
fferences in effective taxation of corporate and noncorporate capital
for a number of U.S. industries. The Mutual Production Model developed
in Gravelle and Kotlikoff (1989) can be used to study the efficiency
gains from the reduction in corporate tax wedges within industries. Un
like the Harberger Model, the Mutual Production Model permits both cor
porate and noncorporate firms to produce the same goods and, therefore
, to coexist within a given industry. This paper develops an 11-indust
ry-55-year dynamic life cycle version of the Mutual Production Model.
We use this model to study the steady-state efficiency gains associate
d with the new law. While we do not simulate the economy's transition
path, our steady-state welfare changes are those that arise from compe
nsating transitional generations for the first-order redistribution of
income associated with the Tax Reform. We find that the 1986 Tax Refo
rm law reduces excess burden by .85 percent of our model's economy's p
resent value of consumption. This efficiency gain reflects the Tax Ref
orm's reduction in corporate-noncorporate tax wedges, particularly in
those industries with significant noncorporate production. Measured as
a flow the 1988 estimated efficiency gain from the Tax Reform Act is
$31 billion.