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The Evolution of Tax Morale in Modern Spain

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Author Info
Jorge Martinz-Vazquez
Benno Torgler

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Abstract

This paper studies the evolutions of tax morale in Spain in the post-Franco era. Tax morale, defined as the intrinsic motivation to pay taxes, might be a key determinant of the actual degree of tax compliance in a country. But despite its potential significance, most studies in the previous literature have treated tax morale as an exogenous residual. In contrast to the previous tax compliance literature, the current paper investigates tax morale as the dependent variable and attempts to answer what actually shapes tax morale. The empirical analysis uses survey data from two sources: the World Values Survey (WVS) and the European Values Survey (EVS). The data allow us to observe tax morale in Spain for the years 1981, 1990, 1995, and 1999/2000. The study of the evolution of tax morale in Spain over nearly a 20-year span is particularly interesting because it provides close to a natural experiment setting. Constitutional and political changes after Franco died in 1975 and the advent of a fully democratic state, deep tax reforms, a significant push for decentralization, joining the European Community, and so on, provide excellent benchmarks for institutional changes that are expected in the compliance literature to change tax morale. This paper will be published in The Journal of Economic Issues (ISSN 0021-3624) For further information about this paper please visit http://www.orgs.bucknell.edu/afee/jei/volindex.htm

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Paper provided by Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA) in its series CREMA Working Paper Series with number 2005-33.

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Date of creation: Dec 2005
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Handle: RePEc:cra:wpaper:2005-33

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Related research
Keywords: Spain; Tax morale; Tax compliance; Constitutional and political changes;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion
H73 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects
K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
O17 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology

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  1. Juan Prieto Rodríguez & María José Sanzo Pérez & Javier Suárez Pandiello, 2006. "Economic analysis of attitudes towards fiscal fraud in Spain”," Hacienda Pública Española, IEF, vol. 177(2), pages 107-128, April. [Downloadable!]
  2. James Alm & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2007. "Tax Morale and Tax Evasion in Latin America," International Studies Program Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0704, International Studies Program, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Mariana Gerstenblüth & Natalia Melgar & Juan Pablo Pagano & Máximo Rossi, 2008. "Threats in Latin American and Caribbean countries: how do inequality and the asymmetries of rules affect tax morale?," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1408, Department of Economics - dECON. [Downloadable!]
  4. Bin Dong & Uwe Dulleck & Benno Torgler, 2009. "Conditional Corruption," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 241, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Alm, James & Gomez, Juan Luis, 2008. "Social Capital and Tax Morale in Spain," Economic Analysis and Policy (EAP), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), School of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(1), pages 73-87, March. [Downloadable!]
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