The Impact of a Digital Message on Tax Compliance: Evidence from a Swedish Field Experiment Using Model-based Bayesian Inference

Last registered on May 25, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Impact of a Digital Message on Tax Compliance: Evidence from a Swedish Field Experiment Using Model-based Bayesian Inference
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0009408
Initial registration date
May 09, 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
May 09, 2022, 8:25 PM EDT

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

Last updated
May 25, 2022, 9:31 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Sweden
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Nikolay Angelov
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Per Johansson
PI Affiliation
Department of Statistics, Uppsala University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-03-17
End date
2022-12-31
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
tax compliance; foreign income; digital message; Bayesian causal inference
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The purpose of the present study is to estimate the effect of a low-cost intervention (either one of two versions of a digitally disseminated message) on the subsequent tax compliance of Swedish taxpayers. The population consists of taxpayers who, according to automatically exchanged data from tax agencies abroad (CRS-data), had foreign dividends or interest from any of the three neighbouring countries Norway, Finland, or Denmark, during the tax year 2020. Within the CRS, tax authorities obtain information from financial institutions in their own jurisdiction and automatically exchange that information with other jurisdictions on an annual basis.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Angelov, Nikolay and Per Johansson. 2022. "The Impact of a Digital Message on Tax Compliance: Evidence from a Swedish Field Experiment Using Model-based Bayesian Inference." AEA RCT Registry. May 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9408-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-03-17
Intervention End Date
2022-03-18

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Declared capital income in the income declaration for 2021
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The sample frame consists of 10,000 individual taxpayers, 5,000 of whom are randomly assigned to one of two possible treatments. Treatment is defined as receiving one of two digital messages. Half of the treated (2,500) receive message A and the other half of the treated (2,500) receive message B.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Simple random sampling dome by a computer, using R.
Randomization Unit
Individual taxpayers
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
10,000 individual taxpayers (not clustered)
Sample size: planned number of observations
10,000 individual taxpayers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
5,000 controls; 2,500 treated by receiving "Message A"; 2,500 "Message B"
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

exp2022_plan (3).pdf

MD5: d717f41dcb9d17e407b5136f88f1552c

SHA1: a0a7ba834cc09f8b5e5179aa505e2990063d6c35

Uploaded At: May 25, 2022

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