Tax Compliance: An Investigation Using Individual TCMP Data /
Tauchen, Helen V.
Tax Compliance: An Investigation Using Individual TCMP Data / Helen V. Tauchen, Ann Dryden Witte, Kurt J. Beron. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1989. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w3078 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w3078. .
August 1989.
In this paper, we analyze the tax compliance behavior of US taxpayers by using a 1979 data set that combines information from a random sample of individual tax returns each of which has been thoroughly audited, IRS administrative records, and sociodemographic data from the Census. We find evidence that both audits and tax code provisions affect compliance. However, the effects are significant for only the low and high income groups. Interestingly, previous research has shown that these groups also participate most actively in underground economic activities, the income from which is not reported on any tax returns. Our results for audits suggest that the "ripple" or general deterrent effect of audits may be many times larger than the direct revenue yield of audits for high income taxpayers. Our results for allowable subtractions from income imply that the 1986 Tax Reform Act changes to lower allowable subtractions may have procompliance effects.
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Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Tax Compliance: An Investigation Using Individual TCMP Data / Helen V. Tauchen, Ann Dryden Witte, Kurt J. Beron. - Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1989. - 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white); - NBER working paper series no. w3078 . - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w3078. .
August 1989.
In this paper, we analyze the tax compliance behavior of US taxpayers by using a 1979 data set that combines information from a random sample of individual tax returns each of which has been thoroughly audited, IRS administrative records, and sociodemographic data from the Census. We find evidence that both audits and tax code provisions affect compliance. However, the effects are significant for only the low and high income groups. Interestingly, previous research has shown that these groups also participate most actively in underground economic activities, the income from which is not reported on any tax returns. Our results for audits suggest that the "ripple" or general deterrent effect of audits may be many times larger than the direct revenue yield of audits for high income taxpayers. Our results for allowable subtractions from income imply that the 1986 Tax Reform Act changes to lower allowable subtractions may have procompliance effects.
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.