Real-Time Guidance and Taxpayers’ Filing Behavior

Last registered on January 07, 2022
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Real-Time Guidance and Taxpayers’ Filing Behavior
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007368
Initial registration date
March 15, 2021

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
March 16, 2021, 6:38 AM EDT

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

Last updated
January 07, 2022, 7:11 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Norway
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Anne-Lise Breivik
Affiliation
Norwegian Tax Administration
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-03-16
End date
2021-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Governance
Additional Keywords
Tax compliance, communication, effectiveness, field experiments
JEL code(s)
C93, H20, H21, H24
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We examine the effects of providing real-time guidance by the tax authority to taxpayers as they file their tax returns on taxpayers' filing behavior. The study will be based on data from a field experiment by the Norwegian Tax Administration (NTA), using their new and digitized tax filing system. For a set of filing items, qualified taxpayers are randomly allocated into a treatment group receiving specific guidance notes, relevant for their tax affairs. The control group will not receive these notes although the information is equally relevant to them. By comparing the filing behavior of the two groups, we investigate whether real-time guidance is an effective means of communication by the tax authority to taxpayers that leads to higher compliance.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Breivik, Anne-Lise. 2022. "Real-Time Guidance and Taxpayers’ Filing Behavior." AEA RCT Registry. January 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7368-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2021-03-16
Intervention End Date
2021-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcome is a dummy variable indicating whether the taxpayers report according to the information in the guidance notes or not.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We examine the effects of providing real-time guidance by the tax authority to taxpayers as they file their tax returns on taxpayers' filing behavior. To study this, we run a field experiment using a new and digitized tax filing system developed by the Norwegian Tax Administration (NTA).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The allocation of taxpayers to the treatment and control group is done based on a personal identification number.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
300,000
Sample size: planned number of observations
300,000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300,000
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
With a 5 % significance level we will have 80 percent power to detect a minimum detectable effect (MDE) of 0.18 standard deviations.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

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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