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Self-serving bias and tax morale

Author

Listed:
  • Blaufus, Kay
  • Braune, Matthias
  • Hundsdoerfer, Jochen
  • Jacob, Martin

Abstract

In a real-effort laboratory experiment, we find that moral evaluation of tax evasion is subject to a self-serving bias. Subjects with the opportunity to evade taxes judge tax evasion as less unethical as opposed to those who cannot evade.

Suggested Citation

  • Blaufus, Kay & Braune, Matthias & Hundsdoerfer, Jochen & Jacob, Martin, 2015. "Self-serving bias and tax morale," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 91-93.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:131:y:2015:i:c:p:91-93
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2015.03.041
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cornelissen, Thomas & Himmler, Oliver & Koenig, Tobias, 2013. "Fairness spillovers—The case of taxation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 164-180.
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    8. Russo, Francesco Flaviano, 2013. "Tax morale and tax evasion reports," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 110-114.
    9. Blanthorne, Cindy & Kaplan, Steven, 2008. "An egocentric model of the relations among the opportunity to underreport, social norms, ethical beliefs, and underreporting behavior," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 684-703.
    10. Torgler, Benno, 2006. "The importance of faith: Tax morale and religiosity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 81-109, September.
    11. Brosig-Koch, Jeannette & Helbach, Christoph & Ockenfels, Axel & Weimann, Joachim, 2011. "Still different after all these years: Solidarity behavior in East and West Germany," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1373-1376.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lackner, Mario & Sonnabend, Hendrik, 2021. "Coping with advantageous inequity—Field evidence from professional penalty kicking," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Markussen, Thomas & Sharma, Smriti & Singhal, Saurabh & Tarp, Finn, 2021. "Inequality, institutions and cooperation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Vicente Calabuig & Gonzalo Olcina & Fabrizio Panebianco, 2016. "The erosion of personal norms and cognitive dissonance," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(18), pages 1265-1268, December.
    4. James Alm & Antoine Malézieux, 2021. "40 years of tax evasion games: a meta-analysis," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 24(3), pages 699-750, September.
    5. Rocco Caferra & Alessandro Cascavilla & Andrea Morone, 2022. "Family affairs or Government's duty? The tax morality of a mobile society," Working Papers 2022/09, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Evasion; Tax morale; Tax compliance; Self-serving bias; Moral spillover;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

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