Voluntary versus enforced tax compliance: empirical evidence for the “slippery slope” framework

The “slippery slope” framework is an alternative approach for research in tax compliance that suggests two key variables to obtain taxpayers’ compliance: trust and power. Furthermore, two forms of compliance are distinguished. It is hypothesized that voluntary compliance depends primarily on trust in authorities, whereas enforced compliance is a function of the power attributed to authorities. Using a large data set (N = 3,071) on taxpayers from Austria, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic, these hypotheses could be confirmed. Furthermore, whereas voluntary compliance seems to be positively related to age and education, enforced compliance is negatively related to education.

[1]  A. Lewis,et al.  Why people pay taxes: From a conventional economic model to a model of social convention , 1997 .

[2]  H. Heckhausen,et al.  Motivation und Handeln , 1989 .

[3]  Tinsley E. Yarbrough,et al.  Tax Ethics and Taxpayer Attitudes: A Survey , 1978 .

[4]  Lars Fallan,et al.  Tax knowledge and attitudes towards taxation; A report on a quasi-experiment , 1996 .

[5]  V. Braithwaite.  Dancing with Tax Authorities: Motivational Postures and Non-Compliant Actions , 2003 .

[6]  Erich Kirchler,et al.  Enforced versus voluntary tax compliance: The "slippery slope" framework , 2008 .

[7]  H. Robben,et al.  Tax Evasion: An Experimental Approach , 2010 .

[8]  Lars P. Feld,et al.  Illegal, immoral, fattening or what?: How deterrence and responsive regulation shape tax morale , 2004 .

[9]  V. Braithwaite.  Defiance In Taxation And Governance: Resisting and Dismissing Authority in a Democracy , 2009 .

[10]  G. Paquet.  Underground Economy , 2020, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

[11]  Bruno S. Frey,et al.  A Constitution for Knaves Crowds Out Civic Virtues , 1997 .

[12]  Michael McKee,et al.  ESTIMATING THE DETERMINANTS OF TAXPAYER COMPLIANCE WITH EXPERIMENTAL DATA , 1992, National Tax Journal.

[13]  C. Adams,et al.  Small business owners' attitudes on VAT compliance in the UK , 2001 .

[14]  D. Messick,et al.  Sanctioning Systems, Decision Frames, and Cooperation , 1999 .

[15]  D. Messick,et al.  Codes of conduct , 2011 .

[16]  E. Kirchler.  Reactance to taxation: Employers' attitudes towards taxes , 1999 .

[17]  Charles R. Tittle,et al.  Sanctions and social deviance: The question of deterrence , 1980 .

[18]  The impact of outcome orientation and justice concerns on tax compliance: the role of taxpayers' identity. , 2002 .

[19]  Tax Compliance: Social Norms, Culture and Endogeneity , 2007 .

[20]  V. Braithwaite.  Responsive Regulation and Taxation: Introduction , 2007 .

[21]  T. N. Srinivasan,et al.  Tax evasion: A model , 1973 .

[22]  E. Kirchler,et al.  The Impact of Voting on Tax Payments , 2010, Kyklos.

[23]  Erich Kirchler,et al.  Why Pay Taxes? A Review of Tax Compliance Decisions , 2007 .

[24]  Agnar Sandmo,et al.  Income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis , 1972 .

[25]  John Braithwaite,et al.  Responsive Regulation: Transcending the Deregulation Debate , 1992 .

[26]  E. Kirchler.  The Economic Psychology of Tax Behaviour , 2007 .

[27]  V. Braithwaite.  Defiance in Taxation and Governance , 2009 .