Tax Amnesties and the Self-Selection of Risk-Averse Taxpayers

In this paper we model taxpayers participation in an unexpected tax amnesty, which can be entered by paying a fixed amount. Taxpayers are characterized by a Constant Relative Risk Aversion (CRRA) utility function and differ in relative risk aversion coefficient and in income. We show that amnesties may fail as a self-selective device to fully separate big from small evaders and to extract resources from the former. Only taxpayers whose relative risk aversion falls within a given interval participate, while those whose evasion is too small or too large do not enter. The model is used to estimate relative risk aversion and tax evasion of participants in 1991 and 1994 Italian income tax amnesties.JEL Classification: H260, D890, K420     

America’s unreported economy: measuring the size, growth and determinants of income tax evasion in the U.S.

This study empirically investigates the extent of noncompliance with the tax code and examines the determinants of federal income tax evasion in the U.S. Employing a refined version of Feige’s (Staff Papers, International Monetary Fund 33(4):768–881, 1986, 1989) General Currency Ratio (GCR) model to estimate a time series of unreported income as our measure of tax evasion, we find that 18–23% of total reportable income may not properly be reported to the IRS. This gives rise to a 2009 “tax gap” in the range of $390–$390–540 billion. As regards the determinants of tax noncompliance, we find that federal income tax evasion is an increasing function of the average effective federal income tax rate, the unemployment rate, the nominal interest rate, and per capita real GDP, and a decreasing function of the IRS audit rate. Despite important refinements of the traditional currency ratio approach for estimating the aggregate size and growth of unreported economies, we conclude that the sensitivity of the results to different benchmarks, imperfect data sources and alternative specifying assumptions precludes obtaining results of sufficient accuracy and reliability to serve as effective policy guides.     

A Typology of Tax Compliance in Developing Economies: Empirical Evidence from China's Shoe Industry

Drawing on fieldwork investigations of shoe manufacturers in southeastern China, this article provides empirical evidence for understanding these businesses’ taxpaying practices. We find that since business taxpayers largely regard tax law as illegitimate, instrumental considerations dominate these taxpayers’ decisions to pay or not pay taxes. We then incorporate “structural opportunities for evasion” and “perceived costs of evasion” to develop a two‐by‐two matrix to understand the following types of behavior: aggressive evasion, obliged compliance, strategic compliance, and reciprocal compliance. We argue that this matrix explains why value added tax fraud is widespread in China while voluntary compliance is rare. It also helps to illuminate compliance more generally in developing economies.     

刑法对偷税罪的立法缺陷

刑法对偷税罪的立法存在一些缺陷偷税罪客观方面规定不严谨;应纳税额含义不明确;偷税罪刑法标准不科学;偷税罪与逃避追缴欠税罪刑法标准不一.     

The Social Side of Sanctions: Personal and Social Norms as Moderators of Deterrence

In a survey of Australian citizens (valid N = 1,406), personal and social norms were found to moderate effects of deterrence on tax evasion. Personal, internalized norms of tax honesty were negatively related to tax evasion and moderated the effects of deterrence variables (i.e., sanction severity), suggesting deterrence effects only when individual ethics were weak. Perceived social norms, beyond those internalized as personal norms, were not directly related to tax evasion but moderated the effects of sanction severity. Only when social norms were seen as strongly in favor of tax honesty was sanction severity negatively related to tax evasion. This result held only for respondents who did not identify strongly as Australians. Hence, when internalized, norms delimit effects of deterrence; when considered external to one's self norms boost deterrence effects, giving social meaning to formal sanctions.     

个人所得税逃税、隐性就业及其治理

课征个人所得税会影响劳动力的供给。一般来说,累进所得税会减少劳动供给,使劳动者实际收入降低,因此个人所得税逃税现象相当普遍。低报所得以非法逃税面临高稽查率和罚款率,故转向地下经济活动通过隐性就业方式间接逃税是理性个人的必然选择。但是,这会给经济的正常运行带来巨大的负面影响。根据劳动者选择以隐性就业方式逃税的经济机理分析,提出相应的政策措施以治理所得税逃税和隐性就业。     

Income tax evasion in the United States and China

This paper compares income tax evasion in the US and China with regard to several aspects, including income tax evasion laws and cases, problems both countries face and their possible solutions. It provides a general picture of income tax evasion in the US and China from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In the last part of the paper, errors in translation on some websites are present to remind readers to be wary of such errors.     

Tax compliance behaviour during the crisis: the case of Greek SMEs

This paper presents the results of a novel survey of 550 small and micro enterprises in Greece regarding their tax compliance behaviour and drawing some useful policy implications for a country facing one of the largest tax gaps in the developed world. We explore the determinants of such behaviour, by integrating economic and psychological perspectives on tax compliance. Results suggest that respondents perceive a strong connection between the quality of political and of tax institutions, while trust seems to play the most significant role in increasing intended compliance and in deterring strategic tax evasion. We contrast the theoretical results with the actual reported compliance behaviour of entrepreneurs and analyse how this behaviour is influenced by factors like perceived nature of power of tax authorities (legitimate versus coercive), perceived fairness of the tax system, etc. The strategy currently followed, that is toughening the profile of tax authorities is a viable short-term response to increase enforced tax compliance. The present study, however, has provided evidence on the multifaceted nature of power and trust and their relation with tax compliance, and the link between power and trust in political regulatory strategies. Current policies seem to completely miss that link.     

企业税收筹划法律风险的若干基础理论问题探析

目前,企业税收筹划理论和实践中存在着一定程度的概念混淆,使得许多避税策划甚至是偷逃税的手段被冠之以税收筹划。为避免税收筹划法律风险,有必要对税收筹划等基本概念进行澄清。宜将税收筹划界定为区别于偷税与避税而具有特定内涵的概念,从而构建一个与税收筹划相关且逻辑自洽的概念体系,并在此基础上探明税收筹划法律风险的内涵。     

Progressive Taxation,Fairness, and Compliance*

This paper examines the preferences for income tax progressivity, other tax fairness issues, and tax compliance of a national sample of nearly six hundred heads of U.S. households. The results reveal that mean public preferences for fair tax burdens are close to actual effective tax rates; however, the similarity between average preferred and actual effective tax rates masks an underlying schism between three groups: (I) those who believe tax rates should be higher for upper income persons (steep progressives), (2) those who prefer mildly progressive tax rates (mild progressives), and (3) those who believe tax rates should be flat (“flatraters). The analysis includes demographic and fairness profiles associated with tax rate preferences. Attitudes about the overall fairness of the income tax, exchange equity with the federal government, government spending, tax complexity, and tax compliance behavior are examined. In general, respondents' stated preferences for vertical equity approximate the current distribution of the income tax burden, yet there is a relatively high consensus that the income tax is unfair, especially with regard to the ability of wealthy taxpayers to exploit loopholes to avoid paying their fair share, and that respondents regard their own tax burdens as unfair. These results suggest that providing information to the public about the relative amount of income taxes paid by upper income individuals and the effects of recent limitations on “loopholes” could improve public attitudes about the fairness of the income tax and tax compliance.     

A need for emotionally intelligent policy: Linking tax evasion with higher education funding

Purpose. The current study addresses the issue of discontent at a personal and policy level with higher education and its funding, and its relation to tax compliance among a graduate population. It examines the thesis that discontent with the provision and funding of higher education plays a significant role in lowering tax compliance through the mediational role of shame management and dissociation from authority. Method. Data are taken from the graduates' hopes, visions, and actions survey based on a sample of 447 Australian graduates who recently received their tertiary degrees. Results. Path analysis provides support for the central thesis but also shows additional direct links between (1) dissatisfaction (with university studies) and tax evasion, and (2) having an income‐contingent university debt to repay and tax evasion. Conclusions. This study demonstrates the ways in which the legitimacy of the tax system and the legitimacy of higher education policy are interconnected. Criticisms of government departments acting in tunnel‐visioned ways with regard to the consequences of their actions are magnified in light of the findings of this paper. People take out their frustrations with one part of the government system (higher education funding and service provision) on other parts of the government system (taxation). Communication between these different parts is imperative for effective policy development and implementation.     

高校税收筹划的法律思考——以高校教师个人所得税为视角

高校税收筹划不是偷税，而是一种合法的税务谋划或安排。高校税收筹划是高校提高教师待遇．增强高校教师纳税意识的客观需要。为实现高校效益的最大化，高校税收筹划应遵循合法原则、组织原则和审慎原则。     

Neutralization and Tax Evasion: How Effective Would a Moral Appeal Be in Improving Compliance to Tax Laws?

The failure of individuals to pay their taxes in full is a serious budgetary problem for the federal government. Existing research (Schwartz and Orleans, 1967; Grasmick and Scott, 1982) suggests that efforts to increase the guilt feelings experienced for tax evasion might improve compliance. However, neutralization theory (Sykes and Matza, 1957) predicts that guilt feelings can be reduced by neutralization strategies which justify guilt-producing behavior, compromising the inhibiting effect of guilt feelings. Our research shows that through the use of neutralization strategies which justify tax evasion the inhibiting effect of guilt feelings is sharply reduced. The implications of this finding for tax compliance programs based on appeals to the moral obligation of paying taxes are discussed.     

The Failure of the First Income Tax: A Tale of Commercial Tax Evaders?

This article constitutes a re-examination of the financial failure of the first income tax in Britain, introduced in 1799 in order to address the rising cost of the French revolutionary wars. In accounting for this failure, the existing literature has focused largely on failings in the administration of the tax, often blaming, for example, its emphasis on local responsibility for tax collection, and its reliance on the honesty of its contributors. This article furthers these interpretations by highlighting that such issues were particularly problematic in their application to the commercial sector of society. It argues that the preferential treatment of commercial interests in the substance of the tax, on account of their privileged position in the political sphere, led to the establishment of a culture of commercial evasion. The evidence for this is examined at length, through both detailed analysis of the yield of the tax, as well as the attitudes of contemporaries evident in the literature at the time. This analysis ultimately leads to the conclusion that commercial evasion of the first tax played a pivotal, and hitherto underplayed, role in the financial underperformance of the tax.     

"Training in Citizenship": Tax Compliance and Modernity

Do the attempts of modern states to foster tax compliance reflect wider attributes of modernity? This article analyzes the history of the creation of a tax compliance culture in Israel of the 1950s and the various practices, techniques, and discourses that were deployed by the state to create model taxpaying citizens. It shows how the specific history of tax compliance can be understood as part of a wider phenomenon: the desire of modern states to create self‐policing, normalized subjects. By interpreting the history of tax compliance critically, as part of the attempt of the state to control its citizens, the article suggests a new way of understanding the history of twentieth‐century tax compliance generally and more specifically the history of judicial attempts to tackle tax evasion and tax avoidance.     

论我国矿业税费制度的改革

目前我国矿业税费制度存在的主要问题是矿业税费负担过重、税制复杂、部分税种的设置不符合矿业的特点,严重阻碍了我国矿业的可持续发展。文章通过介绍国外与矿业有关的专门税费制度,分析了我国矿业税费制度与国外的差距,在此基础上提出了相应的完善措施。     

Serious tax fraud and noncompliance

Research Summary This article reviews what international evidence exists on the impact of civil and criminal sanctions upon serious tax noncompliance by individuals. This construct lacks sharp definitional boundaries but includes large tax fraud and large-scale evasion that are not dealt with as fraud. Although substantial research and theory have been developed on general tax evasion and compliance, their conclusions might not apply to large-scale intentional fraudsters. No scientifically defensible studies directly compared civil and criminal sanctions for tax fraud, although one U.S. study reported that significantly enhanced criminal sanctions have more effects than enhanced audit levels. Prosecution is public, whereas administrative penalties are confidential, and this fact encourages those caught to pay heavy penalties to avoid publicity, a criminal record, and imprisonment. Policy Implications Although it has yet to be proven that prosecution has a greater or lesser impact on these offenders, increased prosecution might be justified for purposes of moral retribution as well as perceived social fairness.     

《中德税收协定》的现状与发展趋势

中德两国互为重要的经济贸易伙伴国。《中德税收协定》自1985年签订以来,成为两国解决双重征税和防止逃漏税问题的法律准则。然而,《中德税收协定》实施后,中国不断地推进税制改革,两国间经贸往来出现了新的形式,与此同时,国际税法理论也有了新的发展。因此,适时修改《中德税收协定》是必要的。尽管中国在德国的投资已有所发展,但是应当清醒地看到,中国仍是资本输入国,在修订《中德税收协定》时,应当坚持来源地管辖权为主和适当兼顾居民管辖权的原则。     

Legitimate rackets: Tax evasion,tax avoidance,and the boundaries of legality

Corporate crime is not the only means by which business can escape legal control. Law and legal definitions can also be used and manipulated to legally avoid both control and penalties or stigma associated with outright crime. This articl analyses such ‘legitimate rackets’ via a study of tax avoidance practices among business and ‘high net worth’ individuals. It describes some of the techniques employed, analyses the difference between tax evasion (an offence) and tax avoidance, explores the ‘grey area’ at the boundaries, and draws out the implications for theory and policy.     

论税法的道德性——税法不能承受之重

现代税法具有浓厚的道德性,这种属性导致税法背离了税收公平原则和"一事不二罚"原则,使得衡量税收立法科学性的标准多样化和模糊化,不利于税收立法的完善。税法已经不能承担各种社会原则和道德准则的重负,应当以量能课税原则为基础构建道德中性税法。