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Is Forgiveness Divine? A Cross-Culture Comparison of Tax Amnesties

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Author Info
Benno Torgler
Christoph A. Schaltegger
Markus Schaffner

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Abstract

Tax compliance literature lacks empirical evidence regarding the effects of a tax amnesty on tax compliance. To measure the long run effects of an amnesty on compliance, experiments in Switzerland and Costa Rica were conducted. The results suggest that tax compliance raises significantly when people get the opportunity to vote for or against a tax amnesty, independently from whether a tax amnesty is rejected or not. The strongest effect can be achieved when voting is coupled with pre-voting discussion. Furthermore, the anticipation of further tax amnesties reduces positive effects on tax compliance. All these findings are robust across the different cultures. Interestingly, our results indicate that tax compliance is significantly higher in Costa Rica than to Switzerland.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES) in its journal Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics.

Volume (Year): 139 (2003)
Issue (Month): III (September)
Pages: 375-396
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Handle: RePEc:ses:arsjes:2003-iii-7

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Related research
Keywords: tax amnesty; tax compliance; voting behaviour; experiments; culture;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Bruno Frey & Lars Feld, 2002. "Deterrence and Morale in Taxation: An Empirical Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  2. Friedland, Nehemiah & Maital, Shlomo & Rutenberg, Aryeh, 1978. "A simulation study of income tax evasion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 107-116, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Alm, James & Sanchez, Isabel & de Juan, Ana, 1995. "Economic and Noneconomic Factors in Tax Compliance," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(1), pages 3-18.
  4. Ronald G. Cummings & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Michael McKee, 2001. "Cross Cultural Comparisions of Tax Compliance Behavior," International Studies Program Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0103, International Studies Program, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. [Downloadable!]
  5. James Alm, 1998. "Tax Policy Analysis: The Introduction of a Russian Tax Amnesty," International Studies Program Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper9806, International Studies Program, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. [Downloadable!]
  6. Torgler, Benno, 2002. " Speaking to Theorists and Searching for Facts: Tax Morale and Tax Compliance in Experiments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 16(5), pages 657-83, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Spicer, Michael W. & Thomas, J. Everett, 1982. "Audit probabilities and the tax evasion decision: An experimental approach," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 241-245, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Alm, James & Cronshaw, Mark B & McKee, Michael, 1993. "Tax Compliance with Endogenous Audit Selection Rules," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(1), pages 27-45.
  9. Benno Torgler, 2003. "Tax Morale and Institutions," CREMA Working Paper Series 2003-09, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
  10. Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Benno Torgler, 2004. "Societal Institutions and Tax Effort in Developing Countries," International Tax Program Papers 0411, International Tax Program, Institute for International Business, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Dubin, Jeffrey A & Graetz, Michael J & Wilde, Louis L, 1992. "State Income Tax Amnesties: Causes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 1057-70, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Alm, James & McClelland, Gary H & Schulze, William D, 1999. "Changing the Social Norm of Tax Compliance by Voting," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(2), pages 141-71.
  13. Lars P. Feld & Bruno S. Frey, 2002. "Trust breeds trust: How taxpayers are treated," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 87-99, 07. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Benno Torgler, 2005. "Tax morale in Latin America," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 133-157, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Benno Torgler & Friedrich Schneider & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2009. "Local Autonomy, Tax Morale and the Shadow Economy," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 243, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Lars P. Feld & Bruno S. Frey, 2004. "Illegal, Immoral, Fattening or What?: How Deterrence and Responsive Regulation Shape Tax Morale," Marburg Working Papers on Economics 200426, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung). [Downloadable!]
  3. Benno Torgler, 2003. "Beyond Punishment: a tax compliance experiment with taxpayers in Costa Rica," Revista de Analisis Economico – Economic Analysis Review, Ilades-Georgetown University, Economics Department, vol. 18(1), pages 27-56, June. [Downloadable!]
  4. Lars P. Feld & Bruno S. Frey, 2006. "Tax Evasion in Switzerland: The Roles of Deterrence and Tax Morale," CREMA Working Paper Series 2006-13, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Benno Torgler & Markus Schaffner & Alison Macintyre, 2007. "Tax Compliance, Tax Morale, and Governance Quality," International Studies Program Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0727, International Studies Program, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Benno Torgler, 2004. "Moral Suasion: An alternative tax policy strategy? Evidence from a controlled field experiment in Switzerland," CREMA Working Paper Series 2004-01, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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