Tax evasion and tax avoidance

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Alstadsaeter, Annette; Johannesen, Niels; Herry, Segal Le Guern; Zucman, Gabriel
• 署名单位: Norwegian University of Life Sciences; University of Copenhagen; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104587
• 发表日期: 2022
• 关键词: tax evasion; Tax avoidance; Tax enforcement; Hidden wealth

摘要

Exploiting rich administrative data and salient policy variation, we study the substitution between illegal tax evasion and legal tax avoidance. By increasing its enforcement effort, the Norwegian government pushed many wealthy individuals to disclose assets previously hidden abroad. We find that the taxes paid by these individuals rise 30% at the time of disclosure and that the rise is sustained over time. After stopping to evade, taxpayers do not start avoiding more. Our results suggest that cracking down on evasion by the wealthy can be an effective way to raise tax revenue, increase tax progressivity, and ultimately reduce inequality. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.