Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/148606 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
arqus Discussion Paper No. 212
Publisher: 
Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre (arqus), Berlin
Abstract: 
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.
Subjects: 
compliance cost measurement
cost measurement error
cost drivers
non-response bias
temporal framing
e-filing
e-government
JEL: 
C81
H21
H25
M41
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
250.78 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.