Working Paper: NBER ID: w20458
Authors: Erzo FP Luttmer; Monica Singhal
Abstract: Standard economic models of tax compliance have focused on enforcement-driven compliance. Notably, tax administrators also tend to place a great deal of emphasis on the importance of improving "tax morale" by encouraging voluntary compliance, creating a culture of compliance, and changing social norms. Tax morale does indeed appear to be an important component of compliance decisions, and there is strong evidence that tax morale operates through a variety of underlying channels. There is less evidence - to date - that indicates we know how to leverage these channels to improve compliance and revenue collection in a consistently successful way.
Keywords: Tax Compliance; Tax Morale; Social Norms; Intrinsic Motivation
JEL Codes: H26; O17
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| tax morale (H26) | tax compliance (H26) |
| intrinsic motivations (O31) | tax compliance (H26) |
| reciprocity (Z13) | tax compliance (H26) |
| peer effects (C92) | tax compliance (H26) |
| cultural factors (Z10) | tax morale (H26) |
| tax morale + enforcement (H26) | tax compliance (H26) |