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How Do Taxpayers Respond to Public Disclosure and Social Recognition Programs? Evidence from Pakistan

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  • Joel Slemrod

    (University of Michigan)

  • Obeid Ur Rehman

    (Ryerson University)

  • Mazhar Waseem

    (University of Manchester)

Abstract

We examine two Pakistani programs to see if the public disclosure of tax information and social recognition of top taxpayers promotes tax compliance. Pakistan began revealing income tax paid by all taxpayers in 2012. Simultaneously, another program began recognizing and rewarding the top 100 tax- paying corporations, partnerships, self-employed individuals, and wage earners. We find that the public disclosure caused an increase of 9 log points and the social recognition program 17 log points in the tax payments of agents exposed to the program. Our results suggest that such programs can be important policy levers to mobilize additional resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Joel Slemrod & Obeid Ur Rehman & Mazhar Waseem, 2022. "How Do Taxpayers Respond to Public Disclosure and Social Recognition Programs? Evidence from Pakistan," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(1), pages 116-132, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:104:y:2022:i:1:p:116-132
    DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00929
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bittschi, Benjamin & Dwenger, Nadja & Rincke, Johannes, 2021. "Water the flowers you want to grow? Evidence on private recognition and donor loyalty," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    3. Müller, Raphael & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2020. "On the determinants and effects of corporate tax transparency: Review of an emerging literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-063, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Chen, Gao & Qi, Yu & Liu, Feng & Xing, Fei, 2022. "Taxation officers’ grassroots work experience and tax performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Mazhar Waseem, 2020. "Does Cutting the Tax Rate to Zero Induce Behavior Different from Other Tax Cuts? Evidence from Pakistan," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(3), pages 426-441, July.

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    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

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