Tax Policy Measures to Combat the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and Considerations to Improve Tax Compliance

A Behavioral Perspective

verfasst von: James Alm, Kay Blaufus, Martin Fochmann, Erich Kirchler, Peter N.C. Mohr, Nina E. Olson, Benno Torgler
Abstract: Governments have taken remarkable measures during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in their efforts to safeguard citizens’ health and the economy. As a consequence, public debts have reached unprecedented levels, which will require at some point higher taxes. En-suring that citizens pay these taxes requires consideration of the many factors that will likely affect their tax compliance decisions. In this paper, we reflect from a behavioral-economic perspective the impact of tax policy measures on the perception, evaluation, and behavior of citizens and derive considerations to devise appropriate tax policies to ensure compliance in the future. We start with speculations about citizens’ views of gov-ernmental restrictions and economic stimulus measures in response to the crisis, we apply these speculations to the acceptance and perceived effectiveness of policy measures on citizens’ tax compliance behaviors, and we finish with their likely effect on determinants of tax compliance. Building on the derived insights, we deduce a set of considerations to improve tax compliance – and to generate the necessary tax revenues to deal with the aftereffects of SARS-CoV-2 when the pandemic is under control: communication, trans-parency and justification of measures, access to support, service provision, audits and penalties in case of free-riding, targeted audits, building social norms of cooperation, consideration of framing effects, development of plans and strategies for the future, and anticipation of hindsight biases.
Organisationseinheit(en): Institut für Betriebswirtschaftliche Steuerlehre
Externe Organisation(en): Tulane University
Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin)
Universität Wien
Queensland University of Technology
Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS)
Center for Taxpayer Rights
Typ: Artikel
Journal: FINANZARCHIV
Band: 76
Seiten: 396-428
Anzahl der Seiten: 33
ISSN: 0015-2218
Publikationsdatum: 14.12.2020
Publikationsstatus: Veröffentlicht
Peer-reviewed: Ja
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete: Finanzwesen
Elektronische Version(en): https://doi.org/10.1628/fa-2020-0014 (Zugang: Geschlossen)

BibTeX

@article{7f0c396323fe414cae477e1ab4348c84,
title = "Tax Policy Measures to Combat the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and Considerations to Improve Tax Compliance: A Behavioral Perspective",
abstract = "Governments have taken remarkable measures during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in their efforts to safeguard citizens{\textquoteright} health and the economy. As a consequence, public debts have reached unprecedented levels, which will require at some point higher taxes. En-suring that citizens pay these taxes requires consideration of the many factors that will likely affect their tax compliance decisions. In this paper, we reflect from a behavioral-economic perspective the impact of tax policy measures on the perception, evaluation, and behavior of citizens and derive considerations to devise appropriate tax policies to ensure compliance in the future. We start with speculations about citizens{\textquoteright} views of gov-ernmental restrictions and economic stimulus measures in response to the crisis, we apply these speculations to the acceptance and perceived effectiveness of policy measures on citizens{\textquoteright} tax compliance behaviors, and we finish with their likely effect on determinants of tax compliance. Building on the derived insights, we deduce a set of considerations to improve tax compliance – and to generate the necessary tax revenues to deal with the aftereffects of SARS-CoV-2 when the pandemic is under control: communication, trans-parency and justification of measures, access to support, service provision, audits and penalties in case of free-riding, targeted audits, building social norms of cooperation, consideration of framing effects, development of plans and strategies for the future, and anticipation of hindsight biases.",
keywords = "Behavioral economics, Behavioral taxation, Covid-19 crisis, Tax compliance",
author = "James Alm and Kay Blaufus and Martin Fochmann and Erich Kirchler and Mohr, {Peter N.C.} and Olson, {Nina E.} and Benno Torgler",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Mohr Siebeck. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2020",
month = dec,
day = "14",
doi = "10.1628/fa-2020-0014",
language = "English",
volume = "76",
pages = "396--428",
journal = "FINANZARCHIV",
issn = "0015-2218",
publisher = "JCB Mohr",
number = "4",
}