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Casting the tax net wider : experimental evidence from Costa Rica

Author

Listed:
  • Brockmeyer,Anne
  • Hernandez,Marco
  • Kettle,Stewart
  • Smith,Spencer Douglas

Abstract

The majority of firms in developing countries are informal, and encouraging them to register with the tax authority has proven challenging and costly. This paper argues that incomplete tax filing among registered firms constitutes an important intermediate form of informality, which can be tackled with much higher cost-effectiveness. Using a nationwide randomized experiment in Costa Rica, The paper shows that credible enforcement emails tripled the income tax filing rate and doubled the payment rate among previously non-filing firms. The treatment effect was even higher when the email listed examples of third-party reports of a firm's transactions, with the return on an email reaching US$ 19. It also shows that the intervention had no negative spillovers on other tax compliance dimensions, the treatment effects persisted in the medium term, and treated firms became more likely to file information reports about their suppliers or clients, thereby increasing the tax authorities'information set for future tax enforcement.

Suggested Citation

  • Brockmeyer,Anne & Hernandez,Marco & Kettle,Stewart & Smith,Spencer Douglas, 2016. "Casting the tax net wider : experimental evidence from Costa Rica," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7850, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7850
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    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/660661475679714942/pdf/WPS7850.pdf
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Era Dabla-Norris & Florian Misch & Duncan Cleary & Munawer Khwaja, 2020. "The quality of tax administration and firm performance: evidence from developing countries," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(3), pages 514-551, June.
    2. Mascagni, Giulia & Mengistu, Andualem T. & Woldeyes, Firew B., 2021. "Can ICTs increase tax compliance? Evidence on taxpayer responses to technological innovation in Ethiopia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 172-193.
    3. Gillitzer, Christian & Sinning, Mathias, 2020. "Nudging businesses to pay their taxes: Does timing matter?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 284-300.
    4. Lopez-Luzuriaga, Andrea & Scartascini, Carlos, 2019. "Compliance spillovers across taxes: The role of penalties and detection," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 518-534.
    5. Meiselman, Ben S., 2018. "Ghostbusting in Detroit: Evidence on nonfilers from a controlled field experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 180-193.

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