IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bon/boncrc/crctr224_2025_623.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

May Tax Evasion Help Control Public Debt?

Author

Listed:
  • Rosella Levaggi
  • Francesco Menoncin
  • Andrea Modena

Abstract

Tolerating tax evasion may increase debt less than an equivalent tax cut. In our model, utility-maximizing entrepreneurs earn income from risky production technologies and risk-free bonds. The government uses income taxes and bonds to finance its expenses. Entrepreneurs can evade taxes at the risk of being audited and fined. Aggregate tax evasion and debt-to-GDP are positively related in equilibrium. Nevertheless, reducing effective tax rates by tolerating evasion may generate a lower debt-to-GDP ratio (but also lower growth) than equivalent debt-financed nominal tax cuts. Policies are equivalent with log utility.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosella Levaggi & Francesco Menoncin & Andrea Modena, 2025. "May Tax Evasion Help Control Public Debt?," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_623, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_623
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.crctr224.de/research/discussion-papers/archive/dp623
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gersbach, Hans & Rochet, Jean-Charles & von Thadden, Ernst-Ludwig, 2023. "Public Debt and the Balance Sheet of the Private Sector," TSE Working Papers 23-1412, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    2. Herskovic, Bernard & Kelly, Bryan & Lustig, Hanno & Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn, 2016. "The common factor in idiosyncratic volatility: Quantitative asset pricing implications," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 249-283.
    3. Hassett, Kevin A & Metcalf, Gilbert E, 1999. "Investment with Uncertain Tax Policy: Does Random Tax Policy Discourage Investment?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(457), pages 372-393, July.
    4. Michele Bernasconi & Rosella Levaggi & Francesco Menoncin, 2020. "Dynamic Tax Evasion with Habit Formation in Consumption," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(3), pages 966-992, July.
    5. Andrea Albarea & Michele Bernasconi & Anna Marenzi & Dino Rizzi, 2020. "Income Underreporting and Tax Evasion in Italy: Estimates and Distributional Effects," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 66(4), pages 904-930, December.
    6. Yitzhaki, Shlomo, 1979. "A Note on Optimal Taxation and Administrative Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(3), pages 475-480, June.
    7. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Pablo Guerrón-Quintana & Keith Kuester & Juan Rubio-Ramírez, 2015. "Fiscal Volatility Shocks and Economic Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(11), pages 3352-3384, November.
    8. Barro, Robert J, 1990. "Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 103-126, October.
    9. Christophe Kamps, 2006. "New Estimates of Government Net Capital Stocks for 22 OECD Countries, 1960-2001," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 53(1), pages 1-6.
    10. Zhiguo He & Arvind Krishnamurthy & Konstantin Milbradt, 2019. "A Model of Safe Asset Determination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(4), pages 1230-1262, April.
    11. Bernasconi, Michele & Levaggi, Rosella & Menoncin, Francesco, 2015. "Tax evasion and uncertainty in a dynamic context," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 171-175.
    12. repec:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2023_412 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Pappa, Evi & Sajedi, Rana & Vella, Eugenia, 2015. "Fiscal consolidation with tax evasion and corruption," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(S1), pages 56-75.
    14. Christophe Kamps, 2006. "New Estimates of Government Net Capital Stocks for 22 OECD Countries, 1960-2001," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 53(1), pages 1-6.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mamedov, Arseny (Мамедов, Арсений) & Hudko, E. (Худько, Е.) & Belev, Sergei (Белев, Сергей) & Moguchev, Nikita Sergeevich (Могучев, Никита Сергеевич), 2016. "Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Individual Instruments of State Investment Policy [Сравнительный Анализ Эффективности Применения Отдельных Инструментов Государственной Инвестиционной П," Working Papers 3052, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    2. Carmen D. Ã lvarez-Albelo, 2018. "A calibration of the output elasticity of public capital," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(2), pages 761-771.
    3. Mitra, Arup & Sharma, Chandan & Véganzonès-Varoudakis, Marie-Ange, 2016. "Infrastructure, information & communication technology and firms’ productive performance of the Indian manufacturing," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 353-371.
    4. Takeo Hori & Noritaka Maebayashi & Keiichi Morimoto, 2018. "Tax Evasion and Optimal Corporate Income Tax Rates in a Growing Economy," Discussion Papers 41, Meisei University, School of Economics.
    5. Ken Tabata, 2021. "Patent protection and public capital accumulation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(1), pages 154-190, February.
    6. Angel De la Fuente, 2010. "Infrastructures and productivity: an updated survey," Working Papers 1018, BBVA Bank, Economic Research Department.
    7. Agénor, Pierre-Richard & Neanidis, Kyriakos C., 2015. "Innovation, public capital, and growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 252-275.
    8. Bom, Pedro R.D. & Ligthart, Jenny E., 2014. "Public infrastructure investment, output dynamics, and balanced budget fiscal rules," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 334-354.
    9. Keiichi Morimoto & Takeo Hori & Noritaka Maebayashi & Koichi Futagami, 2017. "Debt Policy Rules in an Open Economy," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 19(1), pages 158-177, February.
    10. Davide Debortoli & Pedro Gomes, 2014. "Technological change and the decline of public investment," Economics Working Papers 1685, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    11. Pedro R.D. Bom & Jenny E. Ligthart, 2014. "What Have We Learned From Three Decades Of Research On The Productivity Of Public Capital?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 889-916, December.
    12. Javier Barbero & Martin Christensen & Andrea Conte & Patrizio Lecca & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Simone Salotti, 2023. "Improving Government Quality in the Regions of the EU and its System‐Wide Benefits for Cohesion Policy," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 38-57, January.
    13. Patrizio Lecca & Peter McGregor & Kim Swales, 2010. "Balanced Budget Government Spending in a Small Open Regional Economy," Working Papers 1020, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.
    14. Vahagn Galstyan & Adnan Velic, 2018. "Public debt and relative prices in a cross-section of countries," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 154(2), pages 229-245, May.
    15. Dzhumashev, Ratbek & Levaggi, Rosella & Menoncin, Francesco, 2023. "Optimal tax enforcement with productive public inputs," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    16. Perez Sebastian,Fidel & Steinbuks,Jevgenijs & Feres,Jose Gustavo & Trotter,Ian Michael, 2020. "Electricity Access and Structural Transformation : Evidence from Brazil's Electrification," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9182, The World Bank.
    17. Renato Santiago & Matheus Koengkan & José Alberto Fuinhas & António Cardoso Marques, 2020. "The relationship between public capital stock, private capital stock and economic growth in the Latin American and Caribbean countries," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 67(3), pages 293-317, September.
    18. Ales Franc & Sona Kukuckova & Marek Litzman, 2024. "Too far to go to work? Examining the effect of changes in the time taken to commute on regional unemployment," MENDELU Working Papers in Business and Economics 2024-94, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    19. R. Schoonackers & F. Heylen, 2011. "Fiscal Policy and TFP in the OECD: A Non-Stationary Panel Approach," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 11/701, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    20. Pedro Gomes & Davide Debortoli, 2012. "Labor and Profit Taxation, and the Supply of Public Capital," 2012 Meeting Papers 325, Society for Economic Dynamics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dynamic tax evasion; general equilibrium; public debt.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D5 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_623. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CRC Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.crctr224.de .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.