Audit Publicity and Tax Compliance: A Natural Experiment
28 Pages Posted: 6 Jun 2020
Date Written: January 2020
Abstract
We use confidential data on value‐added tax payments at the sector level, in two large Italian cities, to estimate the effect of audit publicity on the tax compliance of local sellers. By employing a difference‐in‐differences identification strategy, we find that such publicity has a positive effect on fiscal declarations made shortly thereafter. The results suggest that increasing awareness on future audits via the media can be an important instrument in the hands of tax authorities.
Keywords: Audits, media coverage, social norms, tax evasion
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Battiston, Pietro and Duncan, Denvil and Gamba, Simona and Santoro, Alessandro, Audit Publicity and Tax Compliance: A Natural Experiment (January 2020). The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Vol. 122, Issue 1, pp. 81-108, 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3620265 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sjoe.12330
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