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Fast Money? The Contribution of State Tax Amnesties to Public Revenue Systems

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  • Mikesell, John L.
  • Ross, Justin M.

Abstract

State tax amnesties have become a commonplace component of state tax administration over the last 30 years. This paper reviews the structural evolution of all state amnesty programs and makes the case that their fundamental purpose has shifted from improving tax administration to emphasizing revenue maximization. It then provides empirical evidence on which state amnesty program features aid in this effort. The regression results reveal that most of the malleable amnesty program features that tend to increase amnesty recoveries also conflict with or undermine the goal of improving the tax administration system.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikesell, John L. & Ross, Justin M., 2012. "Fast Money? The Contribution of State Tax Amnesties to Public Revenue Systems," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(3), pages 529-562, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:65:y:2012:i:3:p:529-62
    DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2012.3.02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joel Slemrod, 2007. "Cheating Ourselves: The Economics of Tax Evasion," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 25-48, Winter.
    2. Jeffrey A. Dubin & Michael J. Graetz & Louis L. Wilde, 1992. "State Income Tax Amnesties: Causes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(3), pages 1057-1070.
    3. Fisher, Ronald C. & Goddeeris, John H. & Young, James C., 1989. "Participation in Tax Amnesties: The Individual Income Tax," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 42(1), pages 15-27, March.
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    5. Alm, James & McKee, Michael J. & Beck, William, 1990. "Amazing Grace: Tax Amnesties and Compliance," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 43(1), pages 23-37, March.
    6. Fisher, Ronald C. & Goddeeris, John H. & Young, James C., 1989. "Participation in Tax Amnesties: The Individual Income Tax," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 42(1), pages 15-27, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Al-Karablieh, Yazan & Koumanakos, Evangelos & Stantcheva, Stefanie, 2021. "Clearing the bar: Improving tax compliance for small firms through target setting," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    2. Justin M. Ross & Neal D. Buckwalter, 2013. "Strategic Tax Planning for State Tax Amnesties," Public Finance Review, , vol. 41(3), pages 275-301, May.
    3. Michael Masiya, 2019. "Lessons from Voluntary Compliance Window (VCW): Malawi's tax amnesty programme," CESifo Working Paper Series 7584, CESifo.
    4. Muhammad Alishahdani Ibrahim & Rita Myrna & Ira Irawati & J. B. Kristiadi, 2017. "A Systematic Literature Review on Tax Amnesty in 9 Asian Countries," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(3), pages 220-225.
    5. Terry Shevlin & Jacob Thornock & Braden Williams, 2017. "An examination of firms’ responses to tax forgiveness," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 577-607, June.
    6. Bayer, Ralph-C. & Oberhofer, Harald & Winner, Hannes, 2015. "The occurrence of tax amnesties: Theory and evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 70-82.
    7. Kawika Pierson & Michael L Hand & Fred Thompson, 2015. "The Government Finance Database: A Common Resource for Quantitative Research in Public Financial Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, June.
    8. Hari Luitel & Mehmet Tosun, 2014. "A reexamination of state fiscal health and amnesty enactment," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 21(5), pages 874-893, October.
    9. Patricia Gil & Justin Holz & John List & Andrew Simon & Alejandro Zentner, 2023. "Toward an Understanding of Tax Amnesties: Theory and Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment," Natural Field Experiments 00772, The Field Experiments Website.
    10. Neal D. Buckwalter & Nathan Y. Sharp & Jaron H. Wilde & David A. Wood, 2014. "Are State Tax Amnesty Programs Associated with Financial Reporting Irregularities?," Public Finance Review, , vol. 42(6), pages 774-799, November.
    11. Javier Moreno & Jaime H. Beltrán & Leovardo Mata, 2019. "Efectos de corto y largo plazo de los programas de condonación de créditos fiscales en la recaudación del Impuesto al Valor Agregado," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 14(1), pages 113-128, Enero-Mar.
    12. Agnes Aurora Ngelo & Yani Permatasari & Iman Harymawan & Nadia Anridho & Khairul Anuar Kamarudin, 2022. "Corporate Tax Avoidance and Investment Efficiency: Evidence from the Enforcement of Tax Amnesty in Indonesia," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    13. Colin C. Williams, 2014. "Confronting the Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15370.
    14. Azeem Mujahid & Danish Ahmed Siddiqui, 2019. "The Effect of Tax Amnesties Programs on Tax Collection and Economic Performance: A Global Macro Economic Analysis," International Journal of Social and Administrative Sciences, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 4(2), pages 108-128, June.
    15. Bayer, Ralph-C. & Oberhofer, Harald & Winner, Hannes, 2015. "The occurrence of tax amnesties: Theory and evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 70-82.
    16. Marchese, Carla, 2014. "Tax Amnesties," IEL Working Papers 17, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    17. Koch, Christian & Müller, Cornelius, 2022. "Tax Amnesties and the Insurance Effect: An Experimental Study," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112991, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association, revised 2022.

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