We develop a general theoretical model to compare two different policymakers both facing tax evasion. Policymakers differs in that they aim to maximize either the fiscal revenues (<InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$$T$$</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>) as in a social-democracy as, e.g., Sweden, or the GDP as in a capitalistic country as, e.g., the USA. Both...</equationsource></inlineequation>

Economic theory suggests that taxation, regulations, efficiency of the bureaucracy and corruption are among the causes of the underground economy. The association between these variables is investigated by using panel regression techniques. The results show that, for OECD countries in the 1990s,...

Virtually all governments seek to fight tax evasion exploiting better and better technological devices. Despite of that the phenomenon still remains alive and kicking all around the world. The foregoing naturally arises the question in the title. This paper develops a simple model to provide...