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Does Culture Influence Tax Morale? Evidence from Different European Countries

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  • Benno Torgler
  • Friedrich Schneider

Abstract

There is considerable evidence that enforcement efforts cannot fully explain the high degree of tax compliance. Previous studies have found differences in compliance behaviour across cultures. Novel in this paper is to investigate the impact of culture differences within a country rather than between countries. Thus, the main purpose of the paper is to see how culture affects tax morale, using World Values Survey (WVS) and European Values Survey (EVS) data. The empirical findings focus individually on Switzerland, Belgium and Spain, countries with a certain cultural variety. In general, the results indicate that the cultural background seems not to have a strong effect on tax morale within a country. However, there is evidence that there is a strong interaction between culture and institutions, which has a strong impact on tax morale.

Suggested Citation

  • Benno Torgler & Friedrich Schneider, 2004. "Does Culture Influence Tax Morale? Evidence from Different European Countries," CREMA Working Paper Series 2004-17, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    • Handle: RePEc:cra:wpaper:2004-17
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    Cited by:

    1. Gerxhani, Klarita & Schram, Arthur, 2006. "Tax evasion and income source: A comparative experimental study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 402-422, June.
    2. Ayşegül KAYAOĞLU & Colin C. WILLIAM, 2020. "Explaining Tax Non-Compliance from a Neo-Institutionalist Perspective: Some Lessons from a Public Opinion Survey in Turkey," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society.
    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.
    4. Kogler, Christoph & Batrancea, Larissa & Nichita, Anca & Pantya, Jozsef & Belianin, Alexis & Kirchler, Erich, 2013. "Trust and power as determinants of tax compliance: Testing the assumptions of the slippery slope framework in Austria, Hungary, Romania and Russia," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 169-180.
    5. Kastlunger, Barbara & Dressler, Stefan G. & Kirchler, Erich & Mittone, Luigi & Voracek, Martin, 2010. "Sex differences in tax compliance: Differentiating between demographic sex, gender-role orientation, and prenatal masculinization (2D:4D)," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 542-552, August.
    6. Juan Molero & Francesc Pujol, 2012. "Walking Inside the Potential Tax Evader’s Mind: Tax Morale Does Matter," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(2), pages 151-162, January.
    7. Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2007. "Direkte Demokratie, Steuermoral und Steuerhinterziehung: Erfahrungen aus der Schweiz," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 8(1), pages 38-64, January.
    8. Aleksandra Hlastec & Damijan Mumel & Lidija Hauptman, 2023. "Is There a Relationship between Self-Enhancement, Conservation and Personal Tax Culture?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, March.
    9. Gabriel Leonardo & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2016. "Politicians, bureaucrats, and tax morale: What shapes tax compliance attitudes?," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1608, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    10. Fateme Kaghazloo & Ana Clara Borrego, 2022. "Designing a Model of the Factors Affecting Tax professionals' Tax noncompliant behaviour using The ISM Approach," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1099-1120, December.
    11. Konstantinos Fotiadis & Prodromos Chatzoglou, 2022. "The tax morale of exhausted taxpayers. The case of Greece," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 354-377, September.
    12. Marina Purina, 2021. "Human Freedom and Effective Corporate Income Tax Rates of CEE Listed Companies," European Financial and Accounting Journal, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2021(2), pages 05-28.
    13. Cristea Loredana Andreea & Voda Alina Daniela & Ungureanu Dragos Mihai, 2021. "Tax Culture: Approached As A New Constituent Element Of The Fiscal System," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 2, pages 124-132, April.
    14. Masca, Simona-Gabriela & Chis, Diana-Maria, 2023. "Distributional implications of informal economy in the EU countries: Accounting for the spread of tax evasion benefits and cultural characteristics," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PB).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax Morale; Tax Compliance; Tax Evasion; Culture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H73 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects

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