Voice and Punishment: A Global Survey Experiment on Tax Morale

Abstract

An online survey experiment spanning 50 countries finds sizable improvements in tax morale when (a) the salience of anti-corruption efforts is increased and (b) citizens are allowed to voice their expenditure preferences to the government. These results hold very broadly across a uniquely large and diverse sample of respondents from all continents. The findings are consistent with theories emphasizing the role of democratic accountability, as well as of perceptions of legitimacy and "retributive justice," in generating voluntary tax compliance. Implications and avenues for further research are discussed.