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Corporate Taxation under Weak Enforcement

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  • Pierre Bachas
  • Mauricio Soto

Abstract

How should developing countries tax corporate income? We study this question in Costa Rica, where firms face higher average tax rates on profits when revenues marginally increase. We combine discontinuity and bunching designs to estimate the elasticity of taxable profit and separate it into revenue and cost elasticities. We find that firms faced with a higher tax rate slightly reduce revenues but considerably increase costs, thus producing a large elasticity of taxable profit of 3–5. In this context, the revenue-maximizing rate for a corporate tax on profit is below 25 percent, and we show that a tax policy that broadens the base while lowering the rate can almost double the tax revenue collected from these firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre Bachas & Mauricio Soto, 2021. "Corporate Taxation under Weak Enforcement," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 36-71, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:36-71
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20180564
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. M. Mardan, 2023. "The unintended consequences of semi‐autonomous revenue agencies," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(3), pages 1063-1081, August.
    2. Drahomir Klimsa & Robert Ullmann, 2023. "Threshold-dependent tax enforcement and the size distribution of firms: evidence from Germany," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(4), pages 1002-1035, August.
    3. Li Liu & Ben Lockwood & Miguel Almunia & Eddy H. F. Tam, 2021. "VAT Notches, Voluntary Registration, and Bunching: Theory and U.K. Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(1), pages 151-164, March.
    4. Samuel Bryson & Kwabena Adu-Ababio & Evaristo Mwale & John Rand, 2023. "Differential bunching impacts across the income distribution: Evidence from Zambian tax administrative data," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-142, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Asatryan, Zareh & Peichl, Andreas, 2016. "Responses of firms to tax, administrative and accounting rules: Evidence from Armenia," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-065, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Gadenne, Lucie, 2018. "Do Ration Shop Systems Increase Welfare? Theory and an Application to India," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 358, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    7. Tourek, Gabriel, 2022. "Targeting in tax behavior: Evidence from Rwandan firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. Waseem, Mazhar, 2023. "Overclaimed refunds, undeclared sales, and invoice mills: Nature and extent of noncompliance in a value-added tax," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    9. Collen Lediga & Nadine Riedel & Kristina Strohmaier, 2018. "Combatting Tax Evasion: Evidence from Comparing Commercial and Business Tax Registry," CESifo Working Paper Series 7117, CESifo.
    10. Bussy, Adrien, 2023. "Corporate tax evasion: Evidence from international trade," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Wian Boonzaaier & Jarkko Harju & Tuomas Matikka & Jukka Pirttilä, 2019. "How do small firms respond to tax schedule discontinuities? Evidence from South African tax registers," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(5), pages 1104-1136, October.
    12. Cui, Wei & Hicks, Jeffrey & Wiebe, Michael, 2024. "Administrative procedures as tax enforcement tools," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    13. Juliana Londoño-Vélez & Javier Avila-Mahecha, 2024. "Behavioral Responses to Wealth Taxation: Evidence from Colombia," NBER Working Papers 32134, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Pablo Gutierrez Cubillos, 2022. "Dividend tax credits and the elasticity of taxable income: evidence from small businesses," Working Papers 630, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    15. Zhao Chen & Zhikuo Liu & Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato & Daniel Yi Xu, 2021. "Notching R&D Investment with Corporate Income Tax Cuts in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(7), pages 2065-2100, July.
    16. Mazhar Waseem & Mazhar Waseem, 2019. "Information, Asymmetric Incentives, or Withholding? Understanding the Self-Enforcement of Value-Added Tax," CESifo Working Paper Series 7736, CESifo.
    17. Du, Pengcheng & Zheng, Yi & Wang, Shuxun, 2022. "The minimum wage and the financialization of firms: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. Brockmeyer,Anne & Hernandez,Marco, 2016. "Taxation, information, and withholding : evidence from Costa Rica," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7600, The World Bank.
    19. Irene Di Marzio & Sauro Mocetti & Enrico Rubolino, 2024. "The market externalities of tax evasion," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1467, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    20. Bertrand Garbinti & Jonathan Goupille-Lebret & Mathilde Muñoz & Stefanie Stantcheva & Gabriel Zucman, 2023. "Tax Design, Information, and Elasticities: Evidence From the French Wealth Tax," NBER Working Papers 31333, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Matthias Krapf & David Staubli, 2020. "The Corporate Elasticity of Taxable Income: Event Study Evidence from Switzerland," CESifo Working Paper Series 8715, CESifo.
    22. Athiphat Muthitacharoen & Wonma Wanichthaworn & Trongwut Burong, 2021. "VAT threshold and small business behavior: evidence from Thai tax returns," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(5), pages 1242-1275, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • K34 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Tax Law
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • O23 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Development

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