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Tax Compliance in India: An Experimental Approach

Author

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  • Tandon, Suranjali

    (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy)

  • Rao, R. Kavita

    (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy)

Abstract

The study presents an analysis of results of a laboratory experiment, conducted in 2015 to assess compliance behaviour in India. The experiment evaluates responses of 133 participants, to changes in key policy instruments like tax rate, penalty rate and audit probability. We find that changes in policy parameters generate varied responses across taxpayers. Audit probability is the only policy instrument that generates relatively consistent response. Further, the results show that individuals can be divided into those who respond to change in audit probability and those who respond to other policy variables, suggesting that no single policy would be adequate to induce suitable behavioural changes in all taxpayers.

Suggested Citation

  • Tandon, Suranjali & Rao, R. Kavita, 2017. "Tax Compliance in India: An Experimental Approach," Working Papers 17/207, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:npf:wpaper:17/207
    Note: Working Paper 207, 2017
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chakraborty, Lekha & Singh, Yadawendra, 2018. "Fiscal Policy, as the "Employer of Last Resort": Impact of MGNREGS on Labour Force Participation Rates in India," Working Papers 18/210, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    2. Anirudh Tagat, 2019. "The Taxman Cometh: Behavioural Approaches to Improving Tax Compliance in India," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 3(1), pages 12-22, March.
    3. Rajat Deb & Tapash Paul & Jaharlal Debbarma & Kiran Sankar Chakraborty, 2020. "Breaking the Stigma of Health Insurance," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 45(1), pages 54-84, February.
    4. Korgaonkar, Chinmay N, 2022. "The Determinants of Tax Morale in India," Working Papers 22/381, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tax compliance ; laboratory experiment ; audit probability ; tax rate; ; penalty ; exemption threshold ; stigma;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior

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