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This article examines the impact of labour market and product market reforms on income inequality for 25 OECD countries between 1970 and 2020, using the local projections approach and an updated narrative-based dataset of the reform indicators. Our results suggest that both types of (endogenized) market-oriented reforms increase income inequality, but the effects are small. Consistent with this finding is that counter-reforms lead to less income inequality. Our results also indicate that the inequality-increasing effect of market-oriented reforms is mostly a result of more income going to the top of the income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to examine the role played by property tax in influencing strategic decisions regarding marital separation and divorce in Italian municipalities. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical analysis is conducted on a sample of 6,458 Italian municipalities by applying the ordinary least squares (OLS) and instrumental variables (IVs) approaches. Findings: The estimation results show a small increase in marital separations and divorces as the difference between the municipal secondary and primary home tax rate increases. Specifically, an increase of 1‰ in the property tax rate differentials is accompanied by an increase of six marital separations and four divorces per 1,000 inhabitants. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of the analysis is that the strategic behavior of the married couple is inferred from econometric analysis with data aggregated at the municipal level. To investigate this phenomenon more precisely, it would be useful to have individual data collected by surveys on strategic divorce decisions due to property tax incentives. Originality/value: This study contributes to the scant existing literature on the tax incentives for strategic divorce. It is the first study to empirically investigate the effects of property tax on separation and divorce decisions by investigating the Italian context. In Italy, a property tax was introduced in 1993, encouraging "false" divorces by spouses with a second home since the tax on the secondary home was set at a rate higher than that on the primary residence. Moreover, there were no tax deductions and no additional tax breaks on the secondary home, while they were established on the primary one. Higher property taxes and the absence of tax breaks on the secondary home may have encouraged a strategic behavior whereby many married couples filed for false separation and divorce in order to recover part of property tax rebates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the most salient changes in macroeconomic conditions in developed economies have included rising government debt and population aging, which are strongly correlated with each other. This paper investigates fiscal multipliers by disentangling the effects of population aging from those of government debt. Our analysis, which uses heterogeneous panel data from 24 OECD economies, shows that while fiscal policy is ineffective for economies with high-debt levels, it is effective for economies with low-debt levels. Furthermore, the estimation results reveal that fiscal policy is ineffective for aged economies, regardless of the level of government debt. However, for nonaged economies, while fiscal policy leads to negative effects on output in times of high debt, its positive effects are more pronounced in times of low debt. Our results suggest that, for the effective implementation of fiscal stimulus policies, policy-based stimulation of employment in the labor market is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates fiscal multipliers and evaluates the effectiveness of fiscal policy in a large panel of 107 developing countries over the medium term. Using Jorda's local projection model, the study finds that fiscal multipliers are more effective during recessionary times than expansion. The findings reveal that fiscal balance and investment are more effective fiscal policy tools to stimulate output growth during recessionary times in developing countries. Quantitatively, the estimates suggest that fiscal multipliers tend to be as low as 0.16 and as large as 2.1 during times of recession. The baseline results broadly hold when fiscal policy shocks are subject to a battery of robustness check exercises in the medium-term framework. Also, the study reports heterogeneities in the size of fiscal multipliers with multipliers being larger and persistent in upper middle-income economies than lower middle-income economies. Furthermore, the study finds that tax-based measures as compared to expenditure-led policies are more stimulative during recessionary times. The study has important policy implications in terms of resorting to different fiscal tools in effectively boosting the output growth during recessionary times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study analyzed whether gender is an important factor in explaining the behaviour of taxpayers towards tax compliance. The study extended the theory of planned bahaviour to establish the factors influencing the behaviour of taxpayers towards tax compliance across gender. Primary data was collected from 390 taxpayers using a closed-ended questionnaire set. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyze the data. Descriptive data were presented using the mean and standard deviation, while inferential data were analyzed using a multivariate regression analysis and a univariate and independent t-test. Findings from the survey showed that the predictor variables contribute 51% in explaining the taxpayers towards tax compliance of which 84.23% is for male taxpayers while 71.86% is for female taxpayers. The results further revealed that there is a statistical difference in the behaviour of taxpayers towards tax compliance. Female taxpayers are more influenced by tax knowledge, perception of government spending and roles of tax authority while male taxpayers are more influenced by tax penalties, economic factors and tax rates. Gender contributes 55.1% to taxpayers’ beheviour towards tax compliance. The study contributed to the current literature by establishing the predictor variables that influences the behaviour of taxpayers towards tax compliance which can be used as a basis when designing a tax compliance policy and program.

We employ dynamic heterogeneous panel estimation techniques which include Dynamic Fixed Effects, Mean Group, and Pooled Mean Group estimators to explore the underground economy (UE) and financial inclusion (FI) relation for ten West African nations during the 2004–2021 period. Applying Pedroni cointegration test, the results present evidence of a long-term relation between UE and FI (alongside corruption, inflation rate, money supply, agricultural output, and trade). The results of panel estimation portray a long-term significant positive influence of FI on UE, but a short-term significant negative relation between FI and UE. In addition, corruption, money supply, and international trade have a long-term significant negative influence on UE, while inflation supports long-term expansion of UE. Also, a short-term significant negative relation exists between inflation (and trade) and UE, while a short-term significant positive relation is found between money supply and UE. The results of Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality test signal a one-way causality from FI to UE. Therefore, policies geared toward enhancing FI, reducing corruption and money supply, and improving international trade are recommended to reduce UE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of the concept of tax expenditures in many countries of the world resulted in the creation of the Global Tax Expenditures Database which included information from Ukraine where regular reporting is conducted on tax benefits which are losses of budget revenues. However, this reporting is incomplete, since it does not include tax expenditures on personal income tax. The introduction of reporting on tax expenditures on this tax puts on the agenda the problem of identifying the elements of its benchmark and tax expenditures. The purpose of this article is to substantiate their main components. The research was carried out using general scientific methods of cognition: critical analysis, combination of normative (conceptual) and positive (legal) approaches, abstract-logical and concrete, comparative analysis. Based on the results of the study, groups of elements that can be attributed to the benchmark of the tax have been identified: incomes provided from sources defined by international treaties of Ukraine; payments that do not increase the taxpayer’s income; incomes whose exemption from taxes ensures the avoidance of double taxation; expenses related to receiving income; incomes that are not included in the taxable amount due to the difficulties of their administration; exclusion from the taxable amount of the revenues that may not qualify as tax expenditures due to small amounts. Tax benefits that can be included in the budget of tax expenditures on the income tax have been identified and classified according to the form of provision and functional orientation. Although only certain provisions of the income tax legislation have been identified, their classification into subgroups may facilitate the determination of the remaining components of the benchmark and tax expenditures.

Previous work has shown that nonlinear taxation can affect the willingness to undertake risky investments. We show that similar results can arise if agents are uncertain regarding future tax rates. Uncertain taxes distort investment decisions when tax rates are correlated with marginal productivity. We demonstrate this result in a simple theoretical framework, which can also explain some well-known results on the effects of tax progressivity and tax asymmetry on investment. Time-series estimates for the post-WW2 era suggest a negative correlation between effective tax rates and total factor productivity in the USA, yielding an effect on firm investment equivalent to an investment subsidy of around 1 percent. Our results have wide-ranging implications for a variety of tax-related work, including effective tax rates, optimal audit policy, and principal-agent problems between investors and managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This JOIE symposium features some of the most influential papers presented in the seventh version of the conference on The shadow economy, tax behaviour, and institutions. Accordingly, it brings together contributions from several disciplines and schools of thought in the social sciences and the humanities exploring such issues as the role of formal and informal institutions in understanding the shadow economy, the importance of social aversion in the motivations for tax compliance, and the dual nature of corruption. This introduction lays out the scope of the symposium, summarises the preceding literature on the topic, and provides a brief outline of each contributing article, noting that, although each paper focuses on a different economic and cultural context, they share several elements in common with alternative theories addressing the institutional, psychological, and sociological aspects of tax law compliance and other appropriate behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the macroeconomic effects of seven key TCJA provisions, including the tax cuts for individuals and businesses, the bonus depreciation of equipment, the amortization of R&D expenses, and the limits on interest deductibility. I use a dynamic general equilibrium model with interest deductibility and accelerated depreciation. I find that, initially, the tax reform had a small positive effect on output and investment. In the medium term, however, the effect on output will diminish, and the effect on investment will turn negative. The tax reform will depress investment in R&D. Government debt will surge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2020, Colorado voters were asked to repeal the state's Gallagher Amendment, a constitutional redistributive policy in effect since 1983 that shifted the local property tax burden away from residential property on to nonresidential property. This study explores how partisanship predicts support for repealing Gallagher. Republican and Democrat platforms both entail sociotropic messages to support repeal, but following through on these political ideals carries a salient and nontrivial pocketbook cost to residential property owners. If voters aligned with one party or another are more likely to support repeal, it follows that these voters are more willing to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. Using election precinct voting data, I find that Democrat-leaning voters were more likely to support repeal than otherwise similar Republican-leaning voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a linear public goods game played in six different variants, this article studies two channels that might moderate social dilemmas and increase cooperation without using pecuniary incentives: moral framing and shaming. We find that cooperation is increased when noncontributing to a public good is framed as morally debatable and socially harmful tax avoidance, while the mere description of a tax context has no effect. However, without social sanctions in place, cooperation quickly deteriorates due to social contagion. We find 'shaming' free-riders by disclosing their misdemeanor to act as a strong social sanction, irrespective of the context in which it is applied. Moralizing tax avoidance significantly reinforces shaming, compared with a simple tax context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the cyclical patterns of fiscal policy rules using various policy variables that respond to the macroeconomic performance of developed countries over the past few decades. The study reveals that regardless of whether the economy is in a recession or a boom, fiscal policy basically displays counter-cyclical behavior. However, the degree of cyclicality varies depending on the output gap measurements chosen and the countries analyzed. Additionally, the estimates using various fiscal policy indicators demonstrate a strong time variation in fiscal cyclical behavior, resulting in a significant increase in the counter-cyclicality of the fiscal balance. The article also applies the time-varying coefficients vector autoregression model to assess the effects of fiscal policy on output and finds that a boost in the cyclically adjusted primary balance positively impacts production in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is sometimes argued that a flat-rate tax reform can reduce tax noncompliance. The argument is, however, inconsistent with the so-called Yitzhaki's puzzle of the classical expected utility (EU) model. The latter predicts an increase, rather than a reduction, in tax evasion following a cut in the tax rates resulting from a flat-rate reform. We study the impact of a flat-rate tax in a microsimulation tax-benefit model of Italy, which allows us to analyze various hypotheses of tax evasion behavior. In addition to the EU model, we analyze expected utility with rank dependent probabilities (EURDP) and the model of reference dependent (RD) preference, the most favorable to overturn Yitzhaki's puzzle. Our simulations show that a flat-rate tax would barely reduce overall evasion in Italy in all models considered. Redistributive effects are in all cases, large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research mainly investigates the impact of digital transformation on corporate financialization and which type of digital technology influences such financialization by utilizing data of listed companies from 2010 to 2020. We further discuss the mediating effect of green technology innovation between digital transformation and corporate financialization. The panel estimations support the negative impact of digital technology on corporate financialization, and cloud computing technology significantly inhibits the corporate financialization level. Moreover, green technology innovation plays a mediating role that digital transformation promotes green technological innovation and thus inhibits corporate financialization. Finally, the inhibitory effect of digital transformation on corporate financialization is obvious in private companies, and this governance role is significant in the east region of China. The research shows that deeper digital transformation impacts corporate decisions through green technology innovation, and that companies should consider the combination of digital technology and green projects.