Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 111-144 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| Journal | European accounting review |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 19 Dec 2020 |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Abstract
Previous accounting research shows that taxes affect decision making by individuals and firms. Most studies assume that agents have an accurate perception regarding their tax burden. However, there is a growing body of literature analyzing whether taxes are indeed perceived correctly. We review 128 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.
Keywords
- Behavioral Taxation, Business Taxation, Misperception, Real Effects, Tax Perception, Tax Policy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Accounting
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In: European accounting review, Vol. 31, No. 1, 2022, p. 111-144.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Tax Misperception and its Effects on Decision Making
T2 - Literature Review and Behavioral Taxpayer Response Model
AU - Blaufus, Kay
AU - Chirvi, Malte
AU - Huber, Hans Peter
AU - Maiterth, Ralf
AU - Sureth-Sloane, Caren
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [Collaborative Research Center (SFB/TRR), grant number Project-ID 403041268?TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency].
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Previous accounting research shows that taxes affect decision making by individuals and firms. Most studies assume that agents have an accurate perception regarding their tax burden. However, there is a growing body of literature analyzing whether taxes are indeed perceived correctly. We review 128 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.
AB - Previous accounting research shows that taxes affect decision making by individuals and firms. Most studies assume that agents have an accurate perception regarding their tax burden. However, there is a growing body of literature analyzing whether taxes are indeed perceived correctly. We review 128 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.
KW - Behavioral Taxation
KW - Business Taxation
KW - Misperception
KW - Real Effects
KW - Tax Perception
KW - Tax Policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097827137&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09638180.2020.1852095
DO - 10.1080/09638180.2020.1852095
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85097827137
VL - 31
SP - 111
EP - 144
JO - European accounting review
JF - European accounting review
SN - 0963-8180
IS - 1
ER -