Testing for Framing Effects in Taxpayer Compliance Decisions.

Abstract This paper reports upon experimental tests of framing effects in taxpayer compliance decisions. Subjects were asked to Indicate whether they would report the correct amount of tax due or take advantage of an evasion opportunity where possible outcomes and related likelihoods were described. Subjects participated in one of three framing conditions-a loss condition, a refund condition, and a final asset condition. In the loss condition, outcomes were expressed as deviations from the status quo. Outcomes in the refund condition were expressed as reductions from an unexpected increase in wealth of 700, whereas in the final asset condition outcomes were expressed in terms of final wealth states that would occur under each state-choice pair. Even though the objective information was equivalent in all conditions, significant framing effects were observed. Subjects' responses in both the refund and final asset conditions were more risk-averse than those in the loss condition. These results suggest that the manner in which outcomes are described to taxpayers can exert considerable influence on their risk attitudes. This in turn suggests that It may be possible to utilize the framing phenomenon to improve taxpayer compliance by changing the relative attractiveness of the compliant alternative. Alternative strategies that might be explored in future research are discussed.