The determinants of tax morale in Pakistan |
| |
Institution: | 1. Queensland Behavioural Economics Group (QuBE), School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, GPO, Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia;2. Research School of Economics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia;3. School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, GPO, Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia;4. AUTONOM TALENT® Consulting GmbH, Mariahilfer Straße 54/15, 1070 Vienna, Austria;5. CREMA, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, Gellertstrasse 18, CH-4052 Basel, Switzerland |
| |
Abstract: | This paper examines the determinants of tax morale in Pakistan, a country that has struggled with low tax effort over the past decade. We exploit novel data for individual taxpayers collected in 2014 by Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue to estimate a binary probit regression model. Our results are generally in line with the findings of the modern empirical literature on tax morale in other countries. Overall, groups with lower labor force participation show more positive attitudes toward tax compliance. Educated respondents exhibit higher tax morale than the illiterate, but only for those with very low or very high educational attainment is tax morale higher than for those with bachelor’s degrees. Tax morale is highest in major industrialized population centers that serve as seats of government. Females show generally higher tax morale than males, however, their attitudes tend to worsen with age to such an extent that elderly females have lower tax morale than elderly males. Our findings on gender suggest potential gains from increasing female labor force participation rates. More generally, addressing the current failures of tax administration and dealing with horizontal inequity arising from administrative weaknesses may contribute materially to improving voluntary compliance. |
| |
Keywords: | Tax morale Tax compliance Social norms Social interactions Pakistan |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|