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Becoming Legible to the State : The Role of Identification and Collection Capacity in Taxation

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  • Okunogbe,Oyebola Motunrayo

Abstract

Whereas the tax compliance literature emphasizes verifying tax liability amounts, this paper highlights two other tax capacity dimensions of particular relevance in lower-income countries: identifying taxable entities and enforcing collection of known liabilities. Leveraging a newly-digitized property database, a randomized experiment in Liberia finds that including identifying information (owners' names and property photographs) in tax notices more than quadruples the payment rate, from 2 percent to almost 10 percent, when the notice also details noncompliance penalties. A second experiment finds that signaling greater collection probability to delinquent taxpayers further increases compliance. These results highlight the importance of targeted investments in tax capacity.

Suggested Citation

  • Okunogbe,Oyebola Motunrayo, 2021. "Becoming Legible to the State : The Role of Identification and Collection Capacity in Taxation," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9852, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9852
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Carrillo & Dina Pomeranz & Monica Singhal, 2017. "Dodging the Taxman: Firm Misreporting and Limits to Tax Enforcement," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 144-164, April.
    2. Dina Pomeranz & José Vila-Belda, 2019. "Taking State-Capacity Research to the Field: Insights from Collaborations with Tax Authorities," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 755-781, August.
    3. Giulia Mascagni, 2018. "From The Lab To The Field: A Review Of Tax Experiments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 273-301, April.
    4. Hallsworth, Michael & List, John A. & Metcalfe, Robert D. & Vlaev, Ivo, 2017. "The behavioralist as tax collector: Using natural field experiments to enhance tax compliance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 14-31.
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    Cited by:

    1. Antinyan, Armenak & Asatryan, Zareh, 2019. "Nudging for tax compliance: A meta-analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-055, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Oyebola Okunogbe & Fabrizio Santoro, 2023. "Increasing Tax Collection in African Countries: The Role of Information Technology," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 32(Supplemen), pages 57-83.
    3. Giulia Mascagni & Roel Dom & Fabrizio Santoro & Denis Mukama, 2023. "The VAT in practice: equity, enforcement, and complexity," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(2), pages 525-563, April.
    4. Anne Brockmeyer & Francisco Garfias & Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato, 2024. "The Fiscal Contract up Close: Experimental Evidence from Mexico City," CESifo Working Paper Series 11270, CESifo.
    5. Okunogbe,Oyebola Motunrayo & Santoro,Fabrizio, 2021. "The Promise and Limitations of Information Technology for Tax Mobilization," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9848, The World Bank.
    6. World Bank, 2023. "Gender and Property Taxes in São Paulo," World Bank Publications - Reports 40358, The World Bank Group.
    7. Okunogbe,Oyebola Motunrayo & Santoro,Fabrizio, 2022. "Increasing Tax Collection in African Countries : The Role of Information Technology," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10182, The World Bank.
    8. Sebastián Bustos & Dina Pomeranz & Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato & José Vila-Belda & Gabriel Zucman, 2022. "The Race Between Tax Enforcement and Tax Planning: Evidence From a Natural Experiment in Chile," NBER Working Papers 30114, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Maximiliano Lauletta & Felipe Montano Campos, 2024. "Is the forgiveness of a tax amnesty divine? Evidence from Argentina," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(5), pages 1229-1248, October.

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