Resources > Tax Obedience in COVID-19 Times
Tax Obedience in COVID-19 Times
Nellie Munin and Yael Efron
Tax payment is a major civic duty in a modern state. Broad tax avoidance undermines governance. Several factors affect tax obedience, including the overall tax burden and the ratio between it and income, enforcement effectiveness, and taxpayers’ understanding and identification with tax-paying importance. In times of severe economic crises, the temptation to avoid tax payments grows. Such an act may involve protest against a government’s perceived responsibility for the crisis or its failure to handle it. In this roleplay the Tax Authority has submitted three cases to the court in which it sued taxpayers who refused to pay income tax according to an assessment determined by the income tax assessor. Each taxpayer had their own explanation for their refusal to pay the tax. Parts include roles for lawyers representing: three different taxpayers, the lawyers representing the tax authorities, and the court (the judges).
Tax Obedience in COVID-19 Times (PDF)
Teacher’s Manual (PDF) available on Mitchell Hamline Open Access