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The Effect of Competition on Tax Compliance: The Role of Audit Rules and Shame

Author

Listed:
  • Alberto Casagrande
  • Daniela Di Cagno
  • Alessandro Pandimiglio
  • Marco Spallone

Abstract

Traditional models of tax enforcement assume that the decision to be tax compliant is the result of an interaction between individual taxpayers and a dedicated tax agency. Evidence shows that tax compliance is the result of a far more complex decision rule, involving both individual and group motivations, along with non-monetary components. In this paper, we consider a game in which the individual decision to be tax compliant is affected both by strategic competition between taxpayers and the psychological cost of being detected (i.e., shame). We ran a laboratory experiment using a sample of 138 students at the Centro di Economia Sperimentale A Roma Est (CESARE), in the experimental lab at the LUISS "Guido Carli" University of Rome, to evaluate the efficiency of random versus targeted audit rules and to verify the interaction between strategic competition and shame. The experimental results show that strategic competition between taxpayers plays a critical role in reducing tax evasion. In addition, shame reinforces this competition, but plays no significant role on its own (i.e., without competition).

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Casagrande & Daniela Di Cagno & Alessandro Pandimiglio & Marco Spallone, 2015. "The Effect of Competition on Tax Compliance: The Role of Audit Rules and Shame," Working Papers CESARE 5/2015, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, LUISS Guido Carli.
    • Handle: RePEc:lui:cesare:1505
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Christoph Engel, 2016. "Experimental Criminal Law. A Survey of Contributions from Law, Economics and Criminology," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2016_07, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    2. Marina Agranov & Anastasia Buyalskaya, 2022. "Deterrence Effects of Enforcement Schemes: An Experimental Study," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3573-3589, May.
    3. Alm, James & Bernasconi, Michele & Laury, Susan & Lee, Daniel J. & Wallace, Sally, 2017. "Culture, compliance, and confidentiality: Taxpayer behavior in the United States and Italy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 176-196.
    4. James Alm, 2019. "What Motivates Tax Compliance?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 353-388, April.
    5. Pukelienė Violeta & Kažemekaitytė Austėja, 2016. "Tax Behaviour: Assessment of Tax Compliance in European Union Countries," Ekonomika (Economics), Sciendo, vol. 95(2), pages 30-56, February.
    6. James Alm & Matthias Kasper, 2020. "Laboratory Experiments," Working Papers 2008, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    7. Engel, Christoph & Zamir, Eyal, 2024. "Is transparency a blessing or a curse? An experimental horse race between accountability and extortionary corruption," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Samiji, Ally A. & Chegere, Martin J. & Ruhinduka, Remidius D., 2023. "The Effect of Carrot and Stick Measures in Fostering Taxpayer Compliance in Tanzania: Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 11(5), December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax evasion; Lab Experiment; Shame; Competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games

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