Publications
Publications
- April 2018
- Journal of Consumer Psychology
The Power of Voice in Stimulating Morality: Eliciting Taxpayer Preferences Increases Tax Compliance
By: Cait Lamberton, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and Michael I. Norton
Abstract
Decisions about paying taxes represent one of the most common moral quandaries faced by citizens. In the
present research, we argue that taxpayer compliance can be raised by increasing “voice”: allowing taxpayers
to express non-binding preferences about the way their taxes are used. We first test for effects of preference
expression on tax compliance with a tax in a laboratory setting. Here, we find that allowing participants to
express non-binding preferences over tax spending priorities leads to a 16% increase in compliance. A followup
online study tests this treatment with a simulation of paying US federal taxes. Allowing taxpayers to
express their preferences on the distribution of government spending reduces the stated take-up rate of a
questionable tax loophole by 15%. A third experiment shows that this effect only occurs when taxpayers have
voice in spending on preferred tax categories, allocating tax dollars across disliked spending categories
increased neither feelings of voice nor likelihood of payment.
Keywords
Morality; Public Policy; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Taxation; Policy; Attitudes; Governance Compliance
Citation
Lamberton, Cait, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, and Michael I. Norton. "The Power of Voice in Stimulating Morality: Eliciting Taxpayer Preferences Increases Tax Compliance." Special Issue on Marketplace Morality. Journal of Consumer Psychology 28, no. 2 (April 2018): 310–328.