Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/224993
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
arqus Discussion Paper No. 261
Publisher: 
Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre (arqus), Berlin
Abstract: 
Previous accounting research shows that taxes affect decision making by individuals and firms. Most studies assume that agents have accurate perception regarding their tax burden. However, there is a growing body of literature analyzing whether taxes are indeed perceived correctly. We review 124 studies on the measurement of tax misperception and its behavioral implications. The review reveals that many taxpayers have substantial tax misperceptions that lead to biased decision making. We develop a Behavioral Taxpayer Response Model on the impact of provided tax information on tax perception. Besides individual traits, characteristics of the tax information and the decision environment determine the extent of tax misperception. We discuss opportunities for future research and methodological limitations. While there is much evidence on tax misperception at the individual level, we hardly find any research at the firm level. Little is known about the real effects of managers' tax misperception and on how tax information is strategically managed to impact stakeholders. This research gap is surprising as a large part of the accounting literature analyzes decision making and disclosure of firms. We recommend a mixed-method approach combining experiments, surveys, and archival data analyses to improve the knowledge on tax misperception and its consequences.
Subjects: 
Behavioral Taxation
Business Taxation
Misperception
Real Effects
Tax Perception
Tax Policy
JEL: 
M41
H24
H25
D91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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