The Compliance Cost of the U.S. Individual Income Tax System
43 Pages Posted: 6 Jul 2004 Last revised: 13 Feb 2023
Date Written: July 1984
Abstract
This paper uses evidence from a survey of Minnesota taxpayers to estimate the magnitude and demographic patterns of the compliance cost of filing federal and state income tax returns. It concludes that in 1982 this cost was between $17 and $27 billion, or from five to seven percent of the revenue raised by the federal and state income tax systems combined. About two billion hours of taxpayer time were spent on filing tax returns, and about $3 billion was spent on professional tax assistance.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Slemrod, Joel B. and Sorum, Nikki, The Compliance Cost of the U.S. Individual Income Tax System (July 1984). NBER Working Paper No. w1401, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=327122
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