Cross Cultural Comparisions of Tax Compliance Behavior

To fully understand differences in compliance behavior across cultures one needs to understand differences in the tax administration and differences in the citizen attitudes toward the governments of the respective countries. Cross-cultural comparisons of behavior that focus exclusively on the effects of cultural norms are insufficient for such understanding because the behavioral issues in tax compliance research involve complex interactions between individuals and governments that extend beyond tax reporting itself. Results from laboratory experiments conducted in different countries demonstrate that observed differences in tax compliance levels can be explained by differences in tax administration and in the perceived fiscal exchange provided by the respective governments.