Working Paper: NBER ID: w1401
Authors: Joel Slemrod; Nikki Sorum
Abstract: This paper uses evidence from a survey of Minnesota taxpayers to estimate the magnitude and demographic patterns of the compliance cost of filing federal and state income tax returns. It concludes that in 1982 this cost was between $17 and $27 billion, or from five to seven percent of the revenue raised by the federal and state income tax systems combined. About two billion hours of taxpayer time were spent on filing tax returns, and about $3 billion was spent on professional tax assistance.
Keywords: compliance costs; income tax; tax reform; taxpayer behavior
JEL Codes: H24; H26
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| taxpayer demographics (H29) | compliance costs (Q52) |
| income (E25) | compliance costs (Q52) |
| education (I29) | compliance costs (Q52) |
| age (J14) | compliance costs (Q52) |
| self-employed individuals (L26) | compliance costs (Q52) |
| lowest income groups (D31) | compliance costs (Q52) |