This paper investigates how tax rates and tax enforcement jointly impact fiscal capacity in low-income countries. We study a policy experiment in the D.R. Congo that randomly assigned 38,028 property owners to the status quo tax rate or to a rate reduction. This variation in tax liabilities...

This paper employs unique tax administrative data and operational audit information from a sample of approximately 7,500 self-employed U.S. taxpayers to investigate the effects of operational tax audits on future reporting behavior. Our estimates indicate that audits can have substantial...

A large body of research has estimated the effects on tax collection of informing taxpayers of their obligations. This paper examines the effects on voluntary tax payments of providing taxpayers with information on their obligations that is collected through massive information cross-checking...

Digital transformation of public administration creates opportunities for transparency, accountability, efficiency, and better tax collection. Benefits are even more critical considering the coronavirus crisis when millions of people worldwide engage in online solutions. Our research paper...

This paper conducts an impact evaluation of the effects of two tax administration interventions-a taxpayer register expansion and education programme, and a new electronic filing system for presumptive tax-on the number of small business taxpayers and presumptive tax revenues in Uganda. Using a...

We study tax evasion and decentralized tax enforcement in a federal economy with mobile capital and the endogenous formation of multiregional companies. Regions use their enforcement policy as a strategic instrument to engage in fiscal competition. Within this framework, we analyze the...

This Handbook entry presents a conceptual, normative overview of the subject of taxation. It emphasizes the relationships among the main functions of taxation—notably, raising revenue, redistributing income, and correcting externalities—and the mapping between these functions and various...

We examine when it is optimal to employ sales or VAT-type taxes as complements to a labor income tax. We find a Ramsey-type result in which each tax instrument should be imposed in inverse proportion to the combined elasticity of real and avoidance responses to the respective tax. Contrary to...

Valuation issues have long posed challenges for the U.S. federal tax system. This is not just because of questions about what technique will most accurately value particular types of property. A key problem for tax administration is that taxpayers have an incentive to claim erroneous,...