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Corporate income tax compliance: A time series analysis

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Abstract

How extensive is corporate income tax noncompliance and how responsive is it to policy tools such as penalties, audits, and tax rates? This paper analyzes aggregate time series data on corporate compliance in an attempt to answer these questions. The results show audits to be an effective deterrent to noncompliance but cast doubt on the presumption that higher penalities or lower tax rates lead to improved compliance.

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The author is indebted to Douglas Holtz-Eakin for his extensive comments which have greatly improved the quality of this work.

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Kamdar, N. Corporate income tax compliance: A time series analysis. Atlantic Economic Journal 25, 37–49 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02298475

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