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Tax & RevenueSocial normsPositive

Social Norm Tax Letters

Dominican Tax Authority (DGII) · Dominican Republic · 2019

Summary

The Dominican Tax Authority randomly assigned businesses to receive letters comparing their tax compliance to similar firms. The social norm framing—showing companies how they ranked among peers—produced a dramatic revenue increase. The $184M gain was far larger than the marginal cost of the letters.

Research question

"Can social norm messaging increase tax payment among businesses?"

Methodology

Intervention

Letters comparing firm's compliance rate to peers with social norm framing

Assignment

Randomized controlled trial (firm-level)

Sample size

~100,000 firms

Primary outcome

Tax revenue paid within compliance window

Effect estimate

Treated firms paid $184 million more than controls (0.22% of GDP)

Decision

Program expanded nationally

Result

Positive

Treated firms paid $184 million more than controls (0.22% of GDP)

Evidence strength

Strong

Randomized trial, replicated across multiple sites or studies.

Replication status

Replicated

Institution

Dominican Tax Authority (DGII)

Location

Dominican Republic

Year

2019

Policy area

Tax & Revenue

Mechanism

Social norms

Featured in evidence syntheses

Other trials of this mechanism

Cite this entry

Dominican Tax Authority (DGII). (2019). Social Norm Tax Letters. The Experiment Society Registry. Retrieved from https://www.experimentsociety.org/registry/dominican-republic-tax-nudge (primary report: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272722001815)

Citation network

Cited by 2 other entries in the registry

Cross-references

Adjacent experiments — same domain, parallel pilots, or alternative mechanisms.

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