Sales tax holidays are temporary suspensions of tax rates applicable to selected goods. In the United States, sales tax holidays are popular among states during “back-to-school” seasons for educational supplies and new clothing. One motivation for these policies is to provide state...

This paper analyzes the effects of an income tax credit for hard-to-tax consumer services on evasion of the value-added-tax (VAT). Based on the individual tax files of the universe of VAT payers in Germany, our analysis shows that harnessing incentives for consumers through tax credits fosters...