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Heterogeneous Responses to Effective Tax Enforcement: Evidence from Spanish Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Miguel Almunia

    (University of Warwick)

  • David Lopez-Rodriguez

    (Banco de España)

Abstract

We investigate whether monitoring the information trails generated by firms’ activities improves tax compliance. We exploit quasi-experimental variation generated by a Large Taxpayers’ Unit (LTU) in Spain, which devotes additional resources to verifying the transactions reported by firms with more than €6 million in reported revenue. Firms bunch below this threshold in order to avoid stricter tax enforcement, and this reaction is stronger in sectors where paper trail is easier to monitor. These results suggest that monitoring efforts by the tax authority and the traceability of information reported by firms are complements, and both are necessary for effective tax enforcement.

Suggested Citation

  • Miguel Almunia & David Lopez-Rodriguez, 2014. "Heterogeneous Responses to Effective Tax Enforcement: Evidence from Spanish Firms," Working Papers 1412, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation.
    • Handle: RePEc:btx:wpaper:1412
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hernández Martínez, Pedro Jesús, 2016. "Reassessing the link between firm size and exports," Economics Discussion Papers 2016-25, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    3. Sören M. Bergner & Jost H. Heckemeyer, 2017. "Simplified Tax Accounting and the Choice of Legal Form," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 581-601, July.
    4. Joerg Paetzold, 2019. "How do taxpayers respond to a large kink? Evidence on earnings and deduction behavior from Austria," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(1), pages 167-197, February.
    5. Pedro J. Hernández, 2020. "Reassessing the link between firm size and exports," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(2), pages 207-223, June.
    6. Miguel Almunia & David Lopez-Rodriguez, 2018. "Under the Radar: The Effects of Monitoring Firms on Tax Compliance," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 1-38, February.
    7. Joan Vilá, 2019. "Respuestas en los ingresos frente a un programa de transferencias monetarias: evidencia de un notch a partir de registros administrativos de Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 19-07, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    8. Tazhitdinova, Alisa, 2015. "Reducing Evasion Through Self-Reporting: Theory and Evidence from Charitable Contributions," MPRA Paper 81612, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2017.
    9. Laurent Bach, 2015. "Do better entrepreneurs avoid more taxes?," Working Papers 1517, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation.
    10. Li Liu & Benjamin Lockwood, 2015. "VAT Notches," CESifo Working Paper Series 5371, CESifo.
    11. Asatryan, Zareh & Peichl, Andreas, 2016. "Responses of firms to tax, administrative and accounting rules: Evidence from Armenia," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-065, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. Slemrod, Joel & Collins, Brett & Hoopes, Jeffrey L. & Reck, Daniel & Sebastiani, Michael, 2017. "Does credit-card information reporting improve small-business tax compliance?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 1-19.
    13. Oronde Small & Leanora Brown, 2020. "Taxpayer Service Provision and Tax Compliance: Evidence for Large Taxpayers in Jamaica," Public Finance Review, , vol. 48(2), pages 250-277, March.
    14. Rico Belda, Paz & Cabrer-Borrás, Bernardí, 2021. "La importancia de los factores internos y externos en el éxito empresarial || The importance of internal and external factors in business success," Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa = Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, vol. 32(1), pages 241-256, December.
    15. Rauhanen, Timo & Harju, Jarkko & Matikka, Tuomas, 2016. "The effects of size-based regulation on small firms: evidence from VAT threshold," Working Papers 75, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    16. Rrumbullaku, Oltion, 2021. "Firms behavior around tax thresholds in Albania during the 2015 anti-informality campaign - Bunching features, persistence and growth implications," MPRA Paper 112524, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Du, Pengcheng & Zheng, Yi & Wang, Shuxun, 2022. "The minimum wage and the financialization of firms: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax enforcement; firms; bunching; Spain; Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU).;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm

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