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Intention to pay taxes or to avoid them: The impact of social value orientation

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  • Brizi, Ambra
  • Giacomantonio, Mauro
  • Schumpe, Birga M.
  • Mannetti, Lucia

Abstract

Economic factors such as audit rates and fines have shown inconsistent effects on tax payments, suggesting that they are not sufficient to explain tax compliance. Moreover, the tax compliance rate is surprisingly higher than what the standard economic model would predict. In the last fifteen years, literature aimed at solving this so called “puzzle of compliance” has increased and pointed out several factors that could possibly explain tax compliance processes, e.g., knowledge of the tax laws, trust toward the political system, as well as personal or social norms. The studies presented here examined the impact of social value orientation on tax morale and intention to avoid/evade taxes. Social value orientation was examined both as a chronic personal orientation (Studies 1 and 2) and as a contextual factor made salient by experimental manipulations (Study 3). The results are supportive of a relationship between social value orientation and measures of tax compliance. Furthermore, results of Study 3 provided evidence for a causal effect of social value orientation on intended tax non-compliance. The effect of social value orientation on intended tax non-compliance was mediated by tax morale (Studies 2 and 3). Results are discussed with reference to their potential practical applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Brizi, Ambra & Giacomantonio, Mauro & Schumpe, Birga M. & Mannetti, Lucia, 2015. "Intention to pay taxes or to avoid them: The impact of social value orientation," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 22-31.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:50:y:2015:i:c:p:22-31
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2015.06.005
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    2. Barile, Lory & Cullis, John & Philip Jones, 2022. "Aint that a Shame : False Tax Declarations and Fraudulent Benefit Claims," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1435, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    3. Maciej A. Górecki & Natalia Letki, 2021. "Social Norms Moderate the Effect of Tax System on Tax Evasion: Evidence from a Large-Scale Survey Experiment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(4), pages 727-746, September.
    4. Grosch, Kerstin & Ibañez, Marcela & Viceisza, Angelino, 2022. "Competition and prosociality: A lab-in-the-field experiment in Ghana," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. John W D’Attoma & Clara Volintiru & Antoine Malézieux, 0. "Gender, Social Value Orientation, and Tax Compliance," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 66(3), pages 265-284.
    6. Alexander, Phyllis & Balavac-Orlic, Merima, 2022. "Tax morale: Framing and fairness," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(1).
    7. Dylan Minor, 2016. "Risk Preferences and Misconduct: Evidence from Politicians," Harvard Business School Working Papers 16-073, Harvard Business School.
    8. Emily M Thornton & Lara B Aknin & Nyla R Branscombe & John F Helliwell, 2019. "Prosocial perceptions of taxation predict support for taxes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-12, November.
    9. repec:oup:ooecxx:v:1:y:2022:i::p:1-11. is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Shibly Shahrier & Koji Kotani & Tatsuyoshi Saijo, 2017. "Intergenerational sustainability dilemma and a potential solution: Future ahead and back mechanism," Working Papers SDES-2017-9, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Aug 2017.
    11. William E. Shafer & Zhihong Wang & Tien-Shih Hsieh, 2020. "Support for Economic Inequality and Tax Evasion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-18, September.
    12. Frecknall-Hughes, Jane & Gangl, Katharina & Hofmann, Eva & Hartl, Barbara & Kirchler, Erich, 2023. "The influence of tax authorities on the employment of tax practitioners: Empirical evidence from a survey and interview study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax compliance; Social value orientation; Tax morale;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • C71 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Cooperative Games

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