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Improving Tax Compliance without Increasing Revenue : Evidence from Population-Wide Randomized Controlled Trials in Papua New Guinea

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  • Hoy,Christopher Alexander
  • McKenzie,Luke
  • Sinning,Mathias Georg

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of “nudges†on taxpayers with varying tax compliance histories in Papua New Guinea. It presents the results from two population-wide randomized controlled trials in a setting that is characterized by low compliance rates and a lack of effective enforcement. The study tests the impact of text messages, flyers, and emails that remind taxpayers of declaration due dates and provide information about the public benefits of paying tax. The findings show that the treatments increased the number of tax declarations filed without increasing the amount of tax paid because the taxpayers who responded to the nudges were largely exempt from paying tax. This result is consistent across tax types, communication channels, and time periods. The findings also show that the treatments had no impact on previously non-filing taxpayers. Collectively, the results illustrate that taxpayers who face the lowest cost from complying are the most likely to respond to a nudge.

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  • Hoy,Christopher Alexander & McKenzie,Luke & Sinning,Mathias Georg, 2021. "Improving Tax Compliance without Increasing Revenue : Evidence from Population-Wide Randomized Controlled Trials in Papua New Guinea," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9539, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9539
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    Cited by:

    1. Hoy,Christopher Alexander, 2022. "How Does the Progressivity of Taxes and Government Transfers Impact People’s Willingnessto Pay Tax ? Experimental Evidence across Developing Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10167, The World Bank.
    2. Holz, Justin E. & List, John A. & Zentner, Alejandro & Cardoza, Marvin & Zentner, Joaquin E., 2023. "The $100 million nudge: Increasing tax compliance of firms using a natural field experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    3. Antinyan, Armenak & Asatryan, Zareh, 2019. "Nudging for tax compliance: A meta-analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-055, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Antinyan, Armenak & Corazzini, Luca, 2021. "Money does it better! Economic incentives, nudging interventions and reusable shopping bags: Evidence from a natural field experiment," Cardiff Economics Working Papers E2021/29, Cardiff University, Cardiff Business School, Economics Section.
    5. Antinyan, Armenak & Corazzini, Luca, 2023. "Breaking the Bag Habit: Testing Interventions to Reduce Plastic Bag Demand in a Developing Country," Cardiff Economics Working Papers E2023/7, Cardiff University, Cardiff Business School, Economics Section.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax Administration; Tax Law; Public Sector Economics; Public Finance Decentralization and Poverty Reduction; Mining&Extractive Industry (Non-Energy); Inequality; Educational Sciences; International Trade and Trade Rules;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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