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Corruption, Tax Evasion and Social Values

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  • Anastasia Litina

    (CREA, Université du Luxembourg)

  • Theodore Palivos

    (Athens University of Economics and Business)

Abstract

We provide empirical support and a theoretical explanation for the vicious circle of political corruption and tax evasion in which countries often fall into. We address this issue in the context of a model with two distinct groups of agents: citizens and politicians. Citizens decide the fraction of their income for which they evade taxes. Politicians decide the fraction of the public budget that they speculate. We show that multiple self-fulfilling equilibria with different levels of corruption can emerge based on the existence of strategic complementarities, indicating that corruption may corrupt. Furthermore, we find that standard deterrence policies cannot elimi- nate multiplicity. Instead, we find that impose a strong moral cost on tax evaders and corrupt politicians can lead to a unique equilibirum.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasia Litina & Theodore Palivos, 2014. "Corruption, Tax Evasion and Social Values," DEM Discussion Paper Series 14-10, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:luc:wpaper:14-10
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    2. Cyan, Musharraf R. & Koumpias, Antonios M. & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge, 2016. "The determinants of tax morale in Pakistan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 23-34.
    3. Jurušs Māris, 2017. "Criteria for Defining Tax Evasion as Tax Terrorism," Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 30(1), pages 102-112, April.
    4. Capasso, Salvatore & Cicatiello, Lorenzo & De Simone, Elina & Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio & Mourão, Paulo Reis, 2021. "Fiscal transparency and tax ethics: does better information lead to greater compliance?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 1031-1050.
    5. Allam, Amir & Moussa, Tantawy & Abdelhady, Mona & Yamen, Ahmed, 2023. "National culture and tax evasion: The role of the institutional environment quality," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    6. Nadia Jacobi & Vito Amendolagine, 2023. "What feeds on what? Networks of interdependencies between culture and institutions," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(2), pages 371-412, July.
    7. Chowdhury Mohammad Sakib Anwar & Alexander Matros & Sonali Sen Gupta, 2018. "Tax Evasion, Embezzlement and Public Good Provision," Working Papers 232397285, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    8. Daniel Hungerman, 2023. "Tax evasion, efficiency, and bunching in the presence of enforcement notches," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(1), pages 43-68, February.
    9. Simone Moriconi & Pierre M. Picard & Skerdilajda Zanaj, 2019. "Commodity taxation and regulatory competition," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(4), pages 919-965, August.
    10. Jana Zausinová & Martin Zoričak & Marcel Vološin & Vladimír Gazda, 2020. "Aspects of complexity in citizen–bureaucrat corruption: an agent-based simulation model," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 15(2), pages 527-552, April.
    11. Leopoldo Fergusson & Carlos Molina & Juan Felipe Riaño, 2019. "Consumers as VAT “Evaders”: Incidence, Social Bias, and Correlates in Colombia," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 21-67, April.
    12. Nadia von Jacobi & Vito Amendolagine, 2022. "What Feeds on What? Networks of Interdependencies between Culture and Institutions," Working Papers 11, SITES.
    13. Vehovar Aleksandra & Mumel Damijan & Hauptman Lidija, 2018. "A Conceptual Model of the Relationship between Personal Values and Personal Tax Culture Regarding the Perception of Tax System Fairness," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 64(1), pages 41-47, March.
    14. PETRAȘCU Daniela & CIOCANEA Bianca Cristina & PIȚU Ioan Cosmin, 2021. "Tax Evasion- Corrosive Factor for the National Economy," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Bucharest Economic Academy, issue 01, March.
    15. Anastasia Litina, 2014. "Great Expectations - The Persistent Effect of Institutions on Culture," DEM Discussion Paper Series 14-17, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    16. Yamen, Ahmed & Allam, Amir & Bani-Mustafa, Ahmed & Uyar, Ali, 2018. "Impact of institutional environment quality on tax evasion: A comparative investigation of old versus new EU members," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 17-29.
    17. Dimitrios Varvarigos, 2017. "Cultural norms, the persistence of tax evasion, and economic growth," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 63(4), pages 961-995, April.
    18. Sacco, Pier Luigi & Arenas, Alex & De Domenico, Manlio, 2023. "The political economy of big data leaks: Uncovering the skeleton of tax evasion," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    19. Litina Anastasia & Varvarigos Dimitrios, 2023. "Family Ties and Corruption," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 23(1), pages 195-222, January.
    20. Ferris, Stephen P. & Hanousek, Jan & Tresl, Jiri, 2021. "Corporate profitability and the global persistence of corruption," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    21. Konte, Maty & Ndubuisi, Gideon, 2022. "Remittance dependence, support for taxation and quality of public services in Africa," MERIT Working Papers 2022-019, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    22. ten Kate, Fabian & Klasing, Mariko J. & Milionis, Petros, 2023. "Societal diversity, group identities and their implications for tax morale," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 1048-1067.
    23. Jandhyala, Srividya & Oliveira, Fernando S., 2021. "The role of international anti-corruption regulations in promoting socially responsible practices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 15-32.
    24. Mawani, Amin & Trivedi, Viswanath Umashanker, 2021. "Collusive vs. coercively corrupt tax auditors and their impact on tax compliance," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; Tax Evasion; Mutiple Equilibria; Stigma;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

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