While the tax gap reflects the extent of taxpayer noncompliance, it is also important to understand why taxpayers are compliant or noncompliant. This section contains papers that seek to provide insights into taxpayer behavior through: Econometric analyses Lab experiments Field or natural experiments Tax compliance burden All files on this page are available in Adobe® PDF format, which requires the free Adobe Acrobat® Reader to view and print the file. Econometric analysis The papers in this section employ statistical regression techniques to explain the variation in observed compliance behavior, controlling statistically for other drivers of that behavior. Title Author Publication date Written for Criminal Investigation Enforcement Activities and Taxpayer Noncompliance PDF Jeffrey Dubin, California Institute of Technology June 2004 2004 IRS Research Conference Lab experiments Academic researchers have simulated taxpaying rules and incentives in a lab environment, which provides some insights into why taxpayers comply or don't comply with their tax obligations. Title Author Publication date Written for Audit Information Dissemination, Taxpayer Communication, and Compliance: An Experimental Approach PDF James Alm, Georgia State University; Betty Jackson, University of Colorado at Boulder; Michael McKee, University of Tennessee at Knoxville June 2004 2004 IRS Research Conference Field or natural experiments Field experiments are conducted with real taxpayers in their actual taxpaying environment, and are designed to allow comparisons between some who are intentionally exposed to a change in that environment and others who are not, providing an indication of the value of the change. Natural experiments are not designed beforehand but are rather analyses that seek to estimate the impact of an actual change that took place by comparing data from before versus after periods, controlling for other likely explanations of the observed behavior. Title Author Publication date Written for Economic and Behavioral Determinants of Tax Compliance: Evidence from the 1997 Arkansas Tax Penalty Amnesty Program PDF Christina M. Ritsema, Hope College; Deborah W. Thomas and Gary D. Ferrier, University of Arkansas June 2003 2003 IRS Research Conference Taxpayer burden research The papers in this section discuss the drivers of taxpayer burden, contributions to burden survey research, and behavioral insights resulting from taxpayer burden research. Title Author Publication date Written for FY21 OMB 1545-0123 Rebaseline PDF RAAS: Brenda Schafer, Pat Langetieg, and Lindsay Buchholz W&I Tax Forms and Publications: Carrie Holland, Tuawana Pinkston, Maria Cheeks December 2021 OMB Improvement Strategy Taxpayer Compliance Burden 2023 PDF RAAS: John Guyton, Pat Langetieg, Pete Rose, Brenda Schafer, Sherri Edelman W&I Tax Forms and Publications: Andres Garcia, Molly Stasko April 2023 Background on Taxpayer Burden Estimation Methodology and related IRS administrative burden.
