The subject of this work is framing effects in the perception of taxation. Its purpose is to demonstrate that the framing of the tax system, i.e. describing the tax system either in terms of gains or losses, can significantly alter peoples preferences for taxation. In order to investigate such...

We study experimentally how taxpayers choose between two tax regimes to fund a public good. The first-best tax regime imposes a general, distortion-free income tax. However, this tax cannot be enforced. The second-best alternative supplements the income tax by a specific commodity tax. This tax...