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Communicating Tax Penalties to Delinquent Taxpayers: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Author

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  • Taylor Cranor
  • Jacob Goldin
  • Tatiana Homonoff
  • Lindsay Moore

Abstract

We analyze a large field experiment conducted with the Colorado Department of Revenue to study the presentation of financial incentives and social norms in tax delinquency notices. We find that notices that highlight and provide information about financial penalties modestly raise the payment rate among delinquent taxpayers, with larger effects for notices providing greater detail. In contrast, we find no payment effect from highlighting social norms for timely payment. Our results suggest that attention to seemingly minor decisions about the wording of notices sent by tax authorities can increase tax payments and reduce administrative costs associated with taxpayer delinquency.

Suggested Citation

  • Taylor Cranor & Jacob Goldin & Tatiana Homonoff & Lindsay Moore, 2020. "Communicating Tax Penalties to Delinquent Taxpayers: Evidence from a Field Experiment," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 73(2), pages 331-360, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:73:y:2020:i:2:p:331-360
    DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2020.2.02
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dong, Sarah Xue & Sinning, Mathias, 2022. "Trying to Make a Good First Impression: A Natural Field Experiment to Engage New Entrants to the Tax System," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    2. Christopher Larkin & Michael Sanders & Isabelle Andresen & Felicity Algate, 2019. "Testing local descriptive norms and salience of enforcement action: A field experiment to increase tax collection," Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration, vol. 2(1).
    3. Belnap, Andrew & Welsch, Anthony & Williams, Braden, 2023. "Remote tax authority," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(2).
    4. Antinyan, Armenak & Asatryan, Zareh & Dai, Zhixin & Wang, Kezhi, 2021. "Does the frequency of reminders matter for their effectiveness? A randomized controlled trial," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 752-764.
    5. Antinyan, Armenak & Asatryan, Zareh, 2019. "Nudging for tax compliance: A meta-analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-055, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Yogama, Eko Arief & Gray, Daniel J. & Rablen, Matthew D., 2024. "Nudging for prompt tax penalty payment: Evidence from a field experiment in Indonesia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 548-579.
    7. Castro, Juan Francisco & Velásquez, Daniel & Beltrán, Arlette & Yamada, Gustavo, 2020. "Spillovers and Long-Run Effects of Messages on Tax Compliance: Experimental Evidence from Peru," IZA Discussion Papers 13974, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Dur, Robert & Fleming, Dimitry & van Garderen, Marten & van Lent, Max, 2021. "A social norm nudge to save more: A field experiment at a retail bank," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    9. Saulitis, Andris & Chapkovski, Philipp, 2023. "Investigating Tax Compliance with Mixed-Methods Approach: The Effect of Normative Appeals Among the Firms in Latvia," MPRA Paper 116560, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Marina V. Ryzhkova & Elmira R. Kashapova, 2024. "Sludges against Ponzi schemes," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 25(1), pages 50-68, April.
    11. Sinning, Mathias & Zhang, Yinjunjie, 2023. "Social norms or enforcement? A natural field experiment to improve traffic and parking fine compliance," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 43-60.
    12. Rob Bauer & Inka Eberhardt & Paul Smeets, 2022. "A Fistful of Dollars: Financial Incentives, Peer Information, and Retirement Savings," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(6), pages 2981-3020.
    13. C. Yiwei Zhang & Jeffrey Hemmeter & Judd B. Kessler & Robert D. Metcalfe & Robert Weathers, 2023. "Nudging Timely Wage Reporting: Field Experimental Evidence from the U.S. Supplemental Security Income Program," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 1341-1353, March.
    14. Holzmeister, Felix & Huber, Jürgen & Kirchler, Michael & Schwaiger, Rene, 2022. "Nudging debtors to pay their debt: Two randomized controlled trials," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 535-551.
    15. Castro, Juan Francisco & Velásquez, Daniel & Beltrán, Arlette & Yamada, Gustavo, 2022. "The direct and indirect effects of messages on tax compliance: Experimental evidence from Peru," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 483-518.
    16. Sloboda, Matúš & Pavlovský, Patrik & Sičáková-Beblavá, Emília, 2024. "Simplify and Deter: Nudging waste collection fee debtors," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 111(C).

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