In China's regulated housing markets, a married couple may strategically choose to divorce in order to purchase more houses and/or purchase with more favorable leverages. Our study examines the strategic divorce behavior induced by two major types of housing market regulations in China, quota...

Individuals (e.g., the self-employed and those earning casual wages such as tips) with income not reported to the tax authority by a third party may be less likely to be detected evading taxes relative to the case in which their income is subject to third-party reporting. However, their...

Recently, gay and lesbian couples have gone to court to force the government to allow same-sex couples to marry. Largely unnoticed during the debates surrounding same-sex marriages are their economic consequences, including the impact on government tax collections. It is well-known that a...

Improved urban infrastructure is widely believed to be essential in facilitating economic growth and in improving the lives of urban dwellers, both in developed and in developing countries. This paper focuses on several dimensions of urban infrastructure finance: finance for major infrastructure...

Policymakers have directed much effort towards reducing or eliminating the so-called "marriage penalty" present in the U.S. individual income tax. However, because the marriage penalty is frequently misunderstood, many suggested remedies do little to reduce the penalty, and in some cases even...

Taxpayer audits are a central feature of the voluntary compliance system in the United States federal individual income tax. Audits are thought to have a direct deterrent effect on the individuals actually audited. Audits are also believed to have an indirect deterrent effect on individuals not...

This paper examines the process by which firms are selected for a sales tax audit and the determinants of subsequent firm compliance behavior, focusing upon the Gross Receipts Tax in New Mexico. A two-stage selection model is used to estimate the State's audit selection rule and, conditional...

The central government of Colombia imposes a variety of taxes on the wages of workers. Some of these taxes are more properly viewed as "contributions" because individuals are entitled to benefits, the size of which varies with their contributions. Some may also be seen as a way to force people...