Tax compliance costs: Cost burden and cost reliability

Arbeitspapier

As documented by empirical research, tax compliance costs are a considerable burden for private businesses. However, cost estimates may be biased due to survey non-response and questionnaire framing effects. This paper investigates the impact of both aspects on cost estimates. We do not find significant evidence for a non-response bias. By contrast, our results indicate that framing effects regarding the temporal dimension of cost measurement (temporal framing effects) might alter cost estimates by about 39 percent downwards (65 percent upwards) on average and by up to 53 percent downwards (respectively 112 percent upwards) for small businesses. We also test a number of cost drivers with a focus on e-government features. We do not find any evidence that the use of Belgian e-government applications in 2002 and 2004 significantly reduced compliance costs.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: arqus Discussion Paper ; No. 212

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access ; Taxation and Subsidies: Efficiency; Optimal Taxation ; Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT) ; Accounting
• Subject: compliance cost measurement ; cost measurement error ; cost drivers ; non-response bias ; temporal framing ; e-filing ; e-government

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Eichfelder, Sebastian ; Hechtner, Frank
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre (arqus)
• (where): Berlin
• (when): 2016

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/148606
• Last update: 11.03.2025, 12:24 PM CET