The traditional economic approach to enforce tax compliance rests on the assumption that taxpayers are reluctant to pay their share, are inclined to maximize their egoistic goals by rationally considering audit probability and fines in case of detected evasion, and comply only if enforced to...

Using a survey-based experiment, this paper examines how tax authorities’ attributes of trust and power, when featured in the media, impact intended tax compliance. We apply excerpts from newspaper coverage on tax issues to manipulate the trustworthiness and power of tax authorities in Austria...