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How do small firms respond to tax schedule discontinuities? Evidence from South African tax registers

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  • Boonzaaier, Wian
  • Harju, Jarkko
  • Matikka, Tuomas
  • Pirttilä, Jukka

Abstract

We study the responsiveness of small and medium-sized firms to corporate income taxes using population-wide administrative data from South Africa. We find sizable bunching of firms at the corporate income thresholds where the corporate tax rate increases, implying active responses to corporate income taxes. The observed bunching is very sharp, and reacts immediately to changes in the location of the kink points. These observations suggest that a sizable part of the response is driven by reporting responses rather than real economic behavior. We find indicative evidence that reporting behavior is linked with underreporting of sales and legal tax planning activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Boonzaaier, Wian & Harju, Jarkko & Matikka, Tuomas & Pirttilä, Jukka, 2017. "How do small firms respond to tax schedule discontinuities? Evidence from South African tax registers," Working Papers 85, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:fer:wpaper:85
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    Cited by:

    1. Asatryan, Zareh & Gomtsyan, David, 2020. "The incidence of VAT evasion," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-027, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Channing Arndt, 2018. "New Data, New Approaches and New Evidence: A Policy Synthesis," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(S1), pages 167-178, January.
    3. Dina Pomeranz & José Vila-Belda, 2019. "Taking State-Capacity Research to the Field: Insights from Collaborations with Tax Authorities," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 755-781, August.
    4. Matthias Krapf & David Staubli, 2020. "The Corporate Elasticity of Taxable Income: Event Study Evidence from Switzerland," CESifo Working Paper Series 8715, CESifo.
    5. K. V. Ramaswamy, 2021. "Do Size-dependent Tax Incentives Discourage Plant Size Expansion? Evidence from Panel Data in Indian Manufacturing," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 15(4), pages 395-417, November.
    6. Wian Boonzaaier & Jarkko Harju & Tuomas Matikka & Jukka Pirttilä, 2019. "How do small firms respond to tax schedule discontinuities? Evidence from South African tax registers," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(5), pages 1104-1136, October.
    7. Krapf, Matthias & Staubli, David, 2025. "Regional variations in corporate tax responsiveness: Evidence from Switzerland," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    8. Channing Arndt, 2018. "New Data, New Approaches and New Evidence: A Policy Synthesis," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(S1), pages 167-178, January.
    9. David Staubli, 2018. "The Elasticity of Corporate Income: Panel Data Evidence from Switzerland," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 18.01, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    10. Amina Ebrahim & Rebone Gcabo & Lilian Khumalo & Jukka Pirttilä, 2019. "Tax research in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-9, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Coppier, Raffaella & Michetti, Elisabetta & Scaccia, Luisa, 2024. "Dimensional traps in evasion models and their effects on industrial structure," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    12. 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.
    13. Munyaradzi Duve & Daniel P. Schutte, 2021. "A Critical Review of the Characteristics of Presumptive Tax Systems in Developing Countries," Theory Methodology Practice (TMP), Faculty of Economics, University of Miskolc, vol. 17(02), pages 27-43.
    14. Rema Hanna & Benjamin A. Olken, 2019. "Tax Administration vs. Tax Rates: Evidence from Corporate Taxation in Indonesia," CID Working Papers 361, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    15. Neryvia Pillay Bell, 2020. "Taxpayer responsiveness to taxation: Evidence from bunching at kink points of the South African income tax schedule," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-68, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. 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.
    17. Pablo Gutierrez Cubillos, 2022. "Dividend tax credits and the elasticity of taxable income: evidence from small businesses," Working Papers 630, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    corporate taxation; small firms; emerging economies; bunching; yritysverotus; pienet ja keskisuuret yritykset; kasvavat taloudet; Social security; taxation and inequality; H21; H25; H32; O12;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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