In a randomised trial we sent reminder letters to self-employed entrepreneurs about their upcoming VAT filing date. Previously it was not common practice for the Hungarian tax administration to send large scale reminders before the due date.
Bi Project Policy Area: Economy
BETA partnered with the Australian Energy Regulator to apply behavioural insights to the design of energy bills. We conducted a literature review to identify key research questions. We used 2 online samples involving over 6,300 and 7,800 Australians, respectively to a survey and 6 randomised controlled trials (survey experiments). They investigated the possibility of cognitive overload, and the impact of various bill components on comprehension and intentions.
It’s the end of April in Poland. While everyone
is happy the harsh winter weather is finally getting
milder, the Polish Tax Authority is worried because
62% of the country failed to pay their taxes on time.
Over the past decade, the use of behavioral principles
by tax administrations in different countries has been
gaining ground. Given the country’s tax compliance
rate, Polish authorities and the World Bank tested the
use of behaviorally informed letters to late taxpayers
in order to…
In 2014, Tanzania’s regulators made the country
the first in Sub-Saharan Africa to permit interest
payments on mobile money wallets. Currently, annual
interest rates range from seven to nine percent, four
times greater than the average deposit in a US bank.
Despite this, mobile savings balances remain low,
especially among low-income users.
In order to understand what influences the saving
behaviors of low-income Tanzanians, our team, eMBeD,
together with the Consultative Group to Assist…
The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia collaborated with the World Bank on a holistic review of the country's tax system, an input to the design of a new, improved tax strategy. The State Revenue Service (SRS), Latvia's tax authority, worked with the Mind, Behavior, and Development (eMBeD) Unit at the World Bank to pilot a field experiment to increase tax compliance. The experiment involved sending preemptive, behaviorally-informed email messages to taxpayers with a share of income…
Behaviorally informed messages have had demonstrated success in increasing tax compliance in multiple regional settings. In Indonesia, which has the largest economy in Southeast Asia, a trial from the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) and World Bank teams looked at whether behaviorally informed messages and materials can impact tax compliance and payment rates among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The results showed, to get delinquent firms to pay their taxes, information is not enough -…