Where Do My Tax Dollars Go? Tax Morale Effects of Perceived Government SpendingIndian Rupee

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Giaccobasso, Matias; Nathan, Brad; Perez-Truglia, Ricardo; Zentner, Alejandro
• 署名单位: VATT Institute for Economic Research; Rutgers University System; Rutgers University New Brunswick; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; University of Texas System; University of Texas Dallas
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20240029
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: identification

摘要

Do perceptions about government spending affect willingness to pay taxes? We test this hypothesis with a natural field experiment that focuses on the allocation of property taxes to public schools. Our results show that taxpayers often misperceive the destination of their tax dollars. By introducing shocks to households' perceptions via an information-provision experiment, we find that perceptions of how tax dollars are used significantly affect the probability of filing a tax appeal. Moreover, the effects are consistent with reciprocal motivations: individuals are more willing to pay taxes if they believe that the government services funded by those taxes will provide greater personal benefit. (JEL C 93, D12, H26, H71, H72, H75)