Casting a wider tax net experimental evidence from Costa Rica by Anne Brockmeyer, Spencer Smith, Marco Hernández and Stewart Kettle
Contributor(s): Brockmeyer, Anne
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Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: 2019Subject(s): SOCIEDADES | EMPRESAS | IMPUESTOS | DECLARACIONES TRIBUTARIAS | CUMPLIMIENTO FISCAL | COSTA RICA
In:
American Economic Journal. Economic Policy v. 11, n. 3, August 2019, p. 55-87Summary: The majority of firms in developing countries are informal, yet even among registered firms, tax filing rates are low. We argue that non-filing of taxes among registered firms constitutes an important intermediate form of informality, which can be tackled cost-effectively. Using a randomized experiment in Costa Rica, we show that credible enforcement emails increased the tax payment rate (amount) by 3.4 p.p. (US$15) among previously non-filing firms. Emails that highlight third-party reports of a firm's transactions further increased compliance. The effect persisted over two years, and treated firms became more likely to report transactions with other firms, facilitating future tax enforcement.
| Item type | Current location | Home library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artículos | IEF | IEF | OP 2135/2019/3-2 (Browse shelf) | Available | OP 2135/2019/3-2 |
Resumen.
Bibliografía.
The majority of firms in developing countries are informal, yet even among registered firms, tax filing rates are low. We argue that non-filing of taxes among registered firms constitutes an important intermediate form of informality, which can be tackled cost-effectively. Using a randomized experiment in Costa Rica, we show that credible enforcement emails increased the tax payment rate (amount) by 3.4 p.p. (US$15) among previously non-filing firms. Emails that highlight third-party reports of a firm's transactions further increased compliance. The effect persisted over two years, and treated firms became more likely to report transactions with other firms, facilitating future tax enforcement.
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