The Effects of Prefilled Tax Returns on Taxpayer Compliance
通过两个在线实验，研究了美国参议院提出的预填联邦所得税申报表提案对纳税人合规行为的影响，发现预填申报表在未估算未申报收入时降低合规性，但包含估算时则提高合规性。
ABSTRACT This study uses two online experiments to examine the potential consequences of a recent U.S. Senate proposal to prefill federal income tax returns on behalf of individuals. Consistent with omission theory, we find that prefilled returns lower compliance compared to self-completed returns when the prefilled returns do not estimate undocumented income (e.g., cash tips). However, the results show that including estimates of undocumented income increases taxpayer compliance relative to self-completed returns. We also find evidence suggesting that prefilled returns eliminate the often-replicated differences in reporting behavior between taxpayers in refund versus tax due settlement positions, suggesting that prefilled returns change individuals' reference points. These findings suggest the implementation of a prefilled return policy could have economically important effects on taxpayer decisions.