Leveraging Religious Leaders to Increase Voluntary Tax Compliance: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania

Non-state actors, such as religious institutions and leaders, play a central role in governance and social life in many low- and lower-middle-income countries. We examine whether information about how tax revenues are used for public goods and service provision increases voluntary tax compliance, and whether religious leaders can serve as more effective senders of this information than tax officials. Using a lab-in-the-field experiment in Tanzania, we find that providing information increases participants’ compliance, but only when delivered by a religious leader. These findings highlight the potential of religious leaders in enhancing tax compliance where trust in state institutions is limited.