Tax compliance and enforcement in the pampas evidence from a field experiment

Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization

Volumn 116, Issue , 2015, Pages 65-82

  Castro, Lucio ^a   Scartascini, Carlos ^b  

^a Ciudad de Buenos Aires   (Argentina)

^b INTER AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK   (United States)

Author keywords

Behavioral economics; Evasion; Property tax; Randomized field experiment; Tax compliance; Tax morale

Indexed keywords

EID: 84928799840     PISSN: 01672681     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2015.04.002     Document Type: Article

References (64)

1. Aguirre B., Rocha F.F. Trust and tax morale in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Paper Presented at the 14th Annual Conference of The International Society for New Institutional Economics 2010.
2. Allingham M.G., Sandmo A. Income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis. J. Public Econ. 1972, 1(3-4):323-338.
3. Alm J., Jackson B., McKee M. Institutional uncertainty and taxpayer compliance. Am. Econ. Rev. 1992, 82(4):1018-1026.
4. Alm J., Martínez-Vázquez J. Tax Morale and Tax Evasion in Latin America. International Studies Program Working Paper No. 07-04 2007, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
5. Alm J., McClelland G.H., Schulze W.D. Why do people pay taxes?. J. Public Econ. 1992, 48(1):21-38.
6. Alm J., Torgler B. Culture differences and tax morale in the United States and in Europe. J. Econ. Psychol. 2006, 27(2):224-246.
7. Andreoni J., Erard B., Feinstein J. Tax compliance. J. Econ. Lit. 1998, 36(2):818-860.
8. Ariel B. Deterrence and moral persuasion effects on corporate tax compliance: findings from a randomized controlled trial. Criminology 2012, 50(1):27-69.
9. Barone G., Mocetti S. Tax Morale and Public Spending Inefficiency. Working Paper 732 2009, Banca D'Italia, Rome, Italy.
10. Bayer R.C. Moral constraints and evasion of income tax. IUP J. Public Fin. 2006, 4(1):7-31.
11. Bergman M., Nevarez A. Do audits enhance compliance? An empirical assessment of VAT enforcement. Natl. Tax J. 2006, 59(4):817-832.
12. Bernheim B.D., Rangel A. Behavioral public economics, welfare and policy analysis with nonstandard decision-makers. Behavioral Economics and Its Applications 2007, Princeton University Press, Princeton, United States. P. Diamond, H. Vartiainen (Eds.).
13. Bernheim B.D., Rangel A. Beyond revealed preference, choice-theoretic foundations for behavioral welfare economics. Q. J. Econ. 2009, 124(1):51-104.
14. Blumenthal M., Christian C., Slemrod J. Do normative appeals affect tax compliance? Evidence from a controlled experiment in Minnesota. Natl. Tax J. 2001, 54(1):125-138.
15. Bruhn M., McKenzie D. In pursuit of balance, randomization in practice in development field experiments. Am. Econ. J.: Appl. Econ. 2009, 1(4):200-232.
16. Chetty R., Looney A., Kroft K. Salience and taxation: theory and evidence. Am. Econ. Rev. 2009, 99(4):1145-1177.
17. Coleman S. The Minnesota Income Tax Compliance Experiment, State Tax Results. MPRA Paper 4827 1996.
18. Coleman S. The Minnesota Income Tax Compliance Experiment, Replication of the Social Norms Experiment. MPRA Paper 5820 2007, Munich University Library, Munich, Germany.
19. Congdon W.J., Kling J.R., Mullainathan S. Policy and Choice, Public Finance through the Lens of Behavioral Economics 2011, Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, United States.
20. More than Revenue, Taxation as a Development Tool. Development in the Americas Report 2013, Inter-American Development Bank/Palgrave Macmillan, Washington, DC/New York, United States. A. Corbacho, V. Fretes Cibils, E. Lora (Eds.).
21. Cowell F.A., Gordon J.P.F. Unwillingness to pay, tax evasion and public good provision. J. Public Econ. 1988, 36(3):305-321.
22. Cummings R.G., Martinez-Vazquez J., McKee M., Torgler B. Effects of Tax Morale on Tax Compliance, Experimental and Survey Evidence. CREMA Working Paper 2005-29 2005, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, Basel, Switzerland.
23. Dell'Anno R. Tax evasion, tax morale and policy maker's effectiveness. J. Socio-Econ. 2009, 38(6):988-997.
24. Del Carpio L. Are the Neighbors Cheating? Evidence from a Social Norm Experiment on Property Taxes in Peru 2014, Princeton University, Available from: http://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/Are_the_neighbors_cheating_Apr2014_0.pdf (unpublished manuscript).
25. Dhami S., al-Nowaihi A. Why do people pay taxes? Prospect theory versus expected utility theory. J. Econ. Behav. Org. 2007, 64(1):171-192.
26. Dhami S., al-Nowaihi A. Optimal taxation in the presence of tax evasion, expected utility versus prospect theory. J. Econ. Behav. Org. 2010, 75(2):313-337.
27. Dwenger N., Kleven H., Rasul I., Rincke J. Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations for Tax Compliance: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Germany 2014, Available from: http://www.tax.mpg.de/files/pdf3/dwenger-kleven-rasul-rincke_oct2014_full1.pdf (unpublished manuscript).
28. Eisenhauer J.G. Ethical preferences, risk aversion, taxpayer behavior. J. Socio-Econ. 2008, 37(1):45-63.
29. Fellner G., Sausgruber R., Traxler C. Testing enforcement strategies in the field, threat, moral appeal and social information. J. Eur. Econ. Assoc. 2013, 11(3):634-660.
30. Fortin B., Lacroix G., Villeval M.C. Tax evasion and social interactions. J. Public Econ. 2007, 91(11-12):2089-2112.
31. Frey B.S., Torgler B. Tax morale and conditional cooperation. J. Comp. Econ. 2007, 35(1):136-159.
32. Fryer R.G. Information and Student Achievement, Evidence from a Cellular Phone Experiment. NBER Working Paper 19113 2013, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.
33. Gangl K., Torgler B., Kirchler E., Hofmann E. Effects of supervision on tax compliance: evidence from a field experiment in Austria. Econ. Lett. 2014, 123:378-382.
34. Gordon J.P.F. Individual morality and reputation costs as deterrents to tax evasion. Eur. Econ. Rev. 1989, 33(4):797-805.
35. Hallsworth M., List J., Metcalfe I.V. The Behavioralist as Tax Collector: Using Natural Field Experiments to Enhance Tax Compliance. NBER Working Paper 20007 2014.
36. Hashimzade N., Myles G.D., Tran-Nam B. New Approaches to the Economics of Tax Evasion 2010, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom, Available from: http://people.exeter.ac.uk/gdmyles/papers/pdfs/Non-euEva.pdf.
37. Hashimzade N., Myles G.D., Tran-Nam B. Applications of behavioural economics to tax evasion. J. Econ. Surv. 2012, 10.1111/j.1467-6419.2012.00733.x.
38. Hasseldine J., Hite P., James S., Toumi M. Persuasive communication: tax compliance enforcement strategies for sole proprietors. Contemp. Account. Res. 2007, 24(1):171-194.
39. Kim Y. Income distribution and equilibrium multiplicity in a stigma-based model of tax evasion. J. Public Econ. 2003, 87:1591-1616.
40. Kleven H.J., Knudsen M.B., Kreiner C.T., Pedersen S., Saez E. Unwilling or unable to cheat? Evidence from a tax audit experiment in Denmark. Econometrica 2011, 79(3):651-692.
41. Luttmer E.F.P., Singhal M. Tax morale. J. Econ. Perspect. 2014, 28(4):149-168.
42. Murphy K. The role of trust in nurturing compliance: a study of accused tax avoiders. Law Hum. Behav. 2004, 28(2):187-209.
43. Myles G.D., Naylor R.A. A model of tax evasion with group conformity and social customs. Eur. J. Polit. Econ. 1996, 12(1):49-66.
44. Ortega D., Ronconi L., Sanguinetti P. Reciprocity and Willingness to Pay Taxes, Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Latin America. CIAS Working Paper 2 2013, Centro de Investigación y Acción Social, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
45. Pomeranz D. No Taxation without Information, Deterrence and Self-Enforcement in the Value Added Tax. NBER Working Paper 19199 2013, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, United States.
46. Rawlings G. Cultural Narratives of Taxation and Citizenship, Fairness, Groups and Globalisation. Working Paper 52 2004, Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
47. Sandmo A. The theory of tax evasion: a retrospective view. Natl. Tax J. 2005, 58(4):643-664.
48. Scartascini C. Tax Compliance in Latin America. Paper Presented at Inter-American Development Bank Seminar The Future of Taxation in Latin America and the Caribbean 2011.
49. Scholz J.T., Lubell M. Trust and taxpaying, testing the heuristic approach to collective action. Am. J. Polit. Sci. 1998, 42(2):398-417.
50. Scholz J.T., Pinney N. Duty, fear, tax compliance: the heuristic basis of citizenship behavior. Am. J. Polit. Sci. 1995, 39(2):490-512.
51. Slemrod J., Blumenthal M., Christian C. Taxpayer response to an increased probability of audit: evidence from a controlled experiment in Minnesota. J. Public Econ. 2001, 79(3):455-483.
52. Snow A., Warren R. Ambiguity about audit probability, tax compliance, taxpayer welfare. Econ. Inq. 2005, 43(4):865-871.
53. Thaler R.H., Sunstein C.R. Nudge, Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, Happiness 2008, Yale University Press, New Haven, United States.
54. Torgler B. Tax Morale, Theory and Empirical Analysis of Tax Compliance 2003, (Ph.D. dissertation), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
55. Torgler B. Moral suasion: an alternative tax policy strategy? Evidence from a controlled field experiment in Switzerland. Econ. Gov. 2004, 5(3):235-253.
56. Torgler B. Tax morale in Latin America. Public Choice 2005, 122(1/2):133-157.
57. Torgler B. A field experiment in moral suasion and tax compliance focusing on underdeclaration and overdeduction. FinanzArchiv: Public Fin. Anal. 2013, 69(4):393-411.
58. Torgler B., Macintyre A., Schaffner M. Causes and consequences of tax morale: an empirical investigation. Econ. Anal. Policy 2008, 38(2):313-339.
59. Traxler C. Social norms and conditional cooperative taxpayers. Eur. J. Polit. Econ. 2010, 26(1):89-103.
60. Traxler C., Winter J. Survey evidence on conditional norm enforcement. Eur. J. Polit. Econ. 2012, 28(3):390-398.
61. Wenzel M. Altering Norm Perceptions to Increase Tax Compliance. Working Paper 38 2002, Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
62. Wenzel M. The multiplicity of taxpayer identities and their implications for tax ethics. Law Policy 2007, 29(1):31-50.
63. Yaniv G. Tax compliance and advance tax payments: a prospect theory analysis. Natl. Tax J. 1999, 52(4):753-764.
64. Yitzhaki S. A note on income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis. J. Public Econ. 1974, 3(2):201-202.