Efficacy of Tax Education for Small Self-Reporting Taxpayers: A Randomized Evaluation with the Uganda Revenue Authority

Last registered on March 31, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Efficacy of Tax Education for Small Self-Reporting Taxpayers: A Randomized Evaluation with the Uganda Revenue Authority
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0009169
Initial registration date
March 30, 2022

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 31, 2022, 3:23 PM EDT

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

Last updated
March 31, 2022, 3:27 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Evans School, University of Washington

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-06-28
End date
2020-07-01
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In collaboration with the Uganda Revenue Authority, I randomize the sending of text messages and message content to potential taxpayers for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Specifically, the sample include registered tax-payers who have previously paid either Uganda's presumptive or personal income tax in any fiscal year since 2014-2015. I randomize between a control group (no message), a group which receives a simple reminder (inform), a group which receives a message about the benefits of taxation (encourage), and a group which receives a message focusing on the penalties for non-compliance (enforce). I use administrative data from URA to measure the effects of the intervention on tax compliance itself.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Cohen, Isabelle. 2022. "Efficacy of Tax Education for Small Self-Reporting Taxpayers: A Randomized Evaluation with the Uganda Revenue Authority." AEA RCT Registry. March 31. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9169-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2019-06-28
Intervention End Date
2019-06-29

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Payment of the presumptive of personal income tax
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment will involve individual-level randomization between approximately 98,000 prior payees of one of Uganda's individual taxes. These individuals will be randomized between one control and three treatment groups, based on message content.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual, with stratification on the date of registration with the tax authority
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
98,000 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
98,000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
24,500 individuals per treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of California, Berkeley
IRB Approval Date
2019-02-14
IRB Approval Number
2019-02-11812
IRB Name
Mildmay Uganda Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2019-06-13
IRB Approval Number
0704-2019

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
July 01, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
July 01, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials