Social Interactions and Tax Avoidance

The main goal of the project is to provide evidence about the range of responses to taxation by businesses, demonstrate the extent and underlying dimensions of heterogeneity in behavior, and the role of family and social networks in pursuing tax avoidance strategies. We aim at presenting credible causal estimates of the effect of tax avoidance elsewhere in the network on the behavior of an individual, as well as analyzing the outcomes of tax avoidance participation on individual and firm levels. We also aim at shedding light on other types of social interactions dynamics in the context of tax evasion. In particular, we plan to investigate the effect of audits by tax authorities on behavior of others in the taxpayer's network.

The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway for the period 2012-2014.

Work in progress

Social networks and tax avoidance: Evidence from a well-defined Norwegian tax shelter.

Tax avoidance and ownership structure: Evidence from Norway.