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My Taxes Are Too Darn High: Why Do Households Protest Their Taxes?

Author

Listed:
  • Brad Nathan
  • Ricardo Perez-Truglia
  • Alejandro Zentner

Abstract

In the United States and globally, taxpayers can file a protest to legally reduce their property taxes. While tax protests can provide a unique opportunity to study the (un)willingness to pay taxes, they have received little attention from researchers. Using a field experiment and a quasi-experiment, we study what motivates households to protest their property taxes. We find that both expected savings and filing frictions play significant roles. We estimate the magnitude of filing frictions using a money metric. We also discuss how low-cost interventions targeted at disadvantaged groups can mitigate existing disparities in the system of tax appeals.

Suggested Citation

  • Brad Nathan & Ricardo Perez-Truglia & Alejandro Zentner, 2025. "My Taxes Are Too Darn High: Why Do Households Protest Their Taxes?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 273-310, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:17:y:2025:i:1:p:273-310
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20220768
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    Cited by:

    1. Campos-Vazquez, Raymundo M. & Krozer, Alice & Ramírez-Álvarez, Aurora A., 2023. "Preferred tax rates depend on the rates paid by the rich," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Eiji Yamamura, 2025. "Impact of income position information on perceived tax burden and preference for redistribution: An online survey," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 58(2), pages 609-641, May.
    3. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Stefanie Stantcheva & Johannes Wohlfart, 2025. "Understanding Economic Behavior Using Open-Ended Survey Data," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1244-1280, December.
    4. Chopra, Felix & Haaland, Ingar & Roth, Christopher, 2022. "Do people demand fact-checked news? Evidence from U.S. Democrats," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    5. Eiji Yamamura, 2021. "Information of income position and its impact on perceived tax burden and preference for redistribution: An Internet Survey Experiment," Papers 2106.11537, arXiv.org.
    6. Christiansen, Tobias Gabel, 2024. "Dynamic effects of tax audits and the role of intentions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    7. Gordon Burtch & Alejandro Zentner, 2024. "Gender Bias and Property Taxes," Papers 2412.12610, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2025.
    8. Zakharov, Alexei, 2024. "Overestimation of social security payments reduces preferences for spending on social policy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    9. Francis Wong, 2024. "Taxing Homeowners Who Won’t Borrow," CESifo Working Paper Series 11185, CESifo.
    10. Tiziana Assenza & Alberto Cardaci & Stefanie J. Huber, 2024. "Fake News: Susceptibility, Awareness and Solutions," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 290, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

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