Overall, I find strong support for the claim that the quality of government services and the level of corruption matter mightily. Clearly, other factors also matter, including the size and ownership of the firm, the fairness of the legal system, the level of competition, the tax rate, the...

It is hard for tax administrations to levy and collect taxes anywhere and anytime. However, taxing certain kinds of activities, sectors, or individuals – the so-called “informal sector” – is an additional challenge for tax administrations in both developing and developed countries, and...

Tax compliance has been studied in traditional public economics by heavily relying on deterrence as the most important compliance-increasing factor. This model of tax evasion is however challenged by inconclusive empirical evidence also pointing to the importance of tax morale as the...

In general, theoretical and empirical studies of tax compliance conclude that increasing penalties and detection probabilities increase compliance. However, these conclusions are based on relatively simple models with a single mode of tax evasion. In this paper, we examine the theoretical and...

In this paper we examine taxation and tax compliance in LAC countries and beyond, focusing on several main questions. What is meant by the “informal sector”? What is the size of informal sector in LAC countries? What are some effects from an informal sector, including the size of the...