The Intergenerational Causal Effect of Tax Evasion: Evidence from the Commuter Tax Allowance in Austria

Does tax evasion run in the family? We study the case of the commuter tax allowance in Austria, which is designed as a step function of the commuting distance, creating sharp discontinuities at each bracket threshold. The data sources allow us to observe actual compliance behavior at the individual level. To identify a causal effect, we use the paternal distance-to-bracket as an IV for paternal compliance. We find that paternal noncompliance increases children's non-compliance by about 24%.