The tax gap as a public management instrument

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the concept of tax gap, that is the difference between the total amount of taxes collected and the total tax revenues that would be collected under full tax compliance. Design/methodology/approach The authors also present the methodology to estimate the...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Salvadori, Luca|||0000-0001-7610-439X, Durán Cabré, José María, Esteller Moré, Alejandro, Mas-Montserrat, Mariona
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:268349
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/268349
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1108/aea-09-2019-0028
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Accountability
Tax gap
Fiscal transparency
Tax administration
Tax enforcement
Descripción
Sumario:Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the concept of tax gap, that is the difference between the total amount of taxes collected and the total tax revenues that would be collected under full tax compliance. Design/methodology/approach The authors also present the methodology to estimate the gap for two taxes levied on wealth: the wealth tax and the inheritance and gift tax; both are administered in Spain by the regional tax authorities. Findings The authors point out that its estimation offers useful information about the relative size and nature of non-compliance, as well as its evolution over time. Likewise, the tax gap is a valuable instrument not only to define enforcement strategies of the tax administration but also to enhance its accountability. Nonetheless, the methodology used to estimate the tax gap and, consequently, the interpretation of the results is subject to limitations that are discussed in the paper. Originality/value Finally, the paper provides the results of the estimationsobtained from using microdata: 44.34 per cent gap in the wealth tax and 41.26 per cent in the inheritance and gift tax.