The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Comparative Study of Germany and the United States

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of the ethics of tax evasion. It begins with a review of the literature and proceeds to discuss the three main views on the issue that have emerged over the last 500 years. The paper then reports on the results of a series of surveys taken of various populations in Germany and the United States. Gender and age differences are also examined.

Keywords: tax evasion, ethics, Germany, United States, public finance, gender, age

JEL Classification: D6, E62, H26, J16, J14, K34, K42, M14, O51, O52