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Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Motivations for Tax Compliance: Evidence from Pakistan

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  • Joel Slemrod
  • Obeid Ur Rehman
  • Mazhar Waseem
  • Mazhar Waseem

Abstract

We examine two Pakistani programs to explore the role of deterrence as well as social and psychological factors in the tax compliance behavior of agents. In the first of these programs, the government began revealing income tax paid by every taxpayer in the country. The second program publicly recognizes and rewards the top 100 tax paying corporations, partnerships, self-employed individuals, and wage-earners. We find that both public disclosure and social recognition of top taxpayers caused a substantial increase in tax payments. We explore the drivers of this behavior, including the shift of social norms toward compliance.

Suggested Citation

  • Joel Slemrod & Obeid Ur Rehman & Mazhar Waseem & Mazhar Waseem, 2019. "Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Motivations for Tax Compliance: Evidence from Pakistan," CESifo Working Paper Series 7731, CESifo.
  • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7731
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    Cited by:

    1. Antinyan, Armenak & Asatryan, Zareh, 2019. "Nudging for tax compliance: A meta-analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-055, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Mazhar Waseem, 2019. "Overclaimed Refunds, Undeclared Sales, and Invoice Mills: Nature and Extent of Noncompliance in a Value-Added Tax," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1913, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    3. Waseem, Mazhar, 2020. "Overclaimed Refunds, Undeclared Sales, and Invoice Mills: Nature and Extent of Noncompliance in a Value-Added Tax," CEPR Discussion Papers 14601, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Di Bu & Yin Liao, 2022. "Shaming Microloan Delinquents: Evidence from a Field Experiment in China," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3768-3790, May.
    5. Mazhar Waseem & Mazhar Waseem, 2020. "Overclaimed Refunds, Undeclared Sales, and Invoice Mills: Nature and Extent of Noncompliance in a Value-Added Tax," CESifo Working Paper Series 8231, CESifo.
    6. Muhammad Sohail Akhtar & Muhammad Zubair Chishti & Ahmer Bilal, 2023. "Incumbency and tax compliance: evidence from Pakistan," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 1-26, March.
    7. Li, Jianjun & Wang, Xuan & Wu, Yaping, 2020. "Can government improve tax compliance by adopting advanced information technology? Evidence from the Golden Tax Project III in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 384-397.
    8. Cyril Chimilila & Remidius Ruhinduka & Vincent Leyaro, 2023. "The design and revenue impact of a tax receipts lottery: A lab experiment in Tanzania," Discussion Papers 2023-02, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    9. Koumpias, Antonios M. & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge, 2019. "The impact of media campaigns on tax filing: quasi-experimental evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 33-43.
    10. Mazhar Waseem & Mazhar Waseem, 2019. "Information, Asymmetric Incentives, or Withholding? Understanding the Self-Enforcement of Value-Added Tax," CESifo Working Paper Series 7736, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax evasion; income tax; social norms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

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