Increasing Tax Compliance: The Role of Detection and Enforcement Capacity

Last registered on June 10, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Increasing Tax Compliance: The Role of Detection and Enforcement Capacity
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004272
Initial registration date
June 03, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 10, 2019, 10:27 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2018-10-01
End date
2019-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study examines ways of increasing tax compliance, focusing on detection and enforcement capacity of the state.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Okunogbe, Oyebola. 2019. "Increasing Tax Compliance: The Role of Detection and Enforcement Capacity." AEA RCT Registry. June 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4272-1.0
Former Citation
Okunogbe, Oyebola. 2019. "Increasing Tax Compliance: The Role of Detection and Enforcement Capacity." AEA RCT Registry. June 10. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4272/history/47889
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Hidden
Intervention Start Date
2019-05-31
Intervention End Date
2019-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Tax payment, other response to delinquent notice e.g. office visit,
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Changes in perceptions of state capacity from endline survey
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Hidden
Experimental Design Details
This project seeks to answer the question: How do citizens respond to signals of increased capacity of the state to detect, as well as to enforce penalties for non-compliance?

The research methodology is a randomized experiment implemented in collaboration with the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) among property owners in Monrovia, Liberia. Subject are individual property owners who are registered for property tax, have made at least one payment in the past but are currently delinquent i.e. they have not paid 2018 taxes —all eligible property owners from the LRA database.


The property owners will be randomly assigned to two treatment arms:

T0. Detection Capacity Only: Control group will receive a delinquent notice requesting immediate payment. "Dear Mr(Ms.) Y, please pay your property tax by X (the deadline date). The penalty for noncompliance is xx. Attached is the photograph of your property from our records and our assessment of your liability."

T1. Detection and Enforcement Capacity: In addition to control, informs property owner that they have been selected for the next batch of properties that will receive “intensive follow up.” If they do not respond in stipulated time, the LRA will proceed to next step of enforcement action.

The implementation is as follows
1. Property Tracking: A team from LRA will verify the location of the property using the limited location information/ incomplete addresses in the LRA database. When a property is found, the team takes a photo of it and collects the GPS coordinates
2. Delivery of Notices: Team delivers delinquent notices to property owners whose properties are successfully located during the tracking exercise
3. Responses are tracked at the LRA office and databases
4. An endline survey is conducted

Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by computer
Randomization Unit
Individual taxpayers
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
600 property owners
Sample size: planned number of observations
600 property owners
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300 control , 300 treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Health Media Lab IRB
IRB Approval Date
2018-08-01
IRB Approval Number
556WBG18

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials