Does charity donation lead to tax cheating?

• Authors: Sabina Kołodziej , Małgorzata Niesiobędzka

Abstracts

EN

In this paper, we consider how charity donations influence tax cheating decisions. Paying taxes is a legal requirement, and some taxpayers are reluctant to pay and search for actions aimed at reducing the amount of tax they pay. Donating money to charity not only allows benefit from the legal tax relief but can also lead to violation of moral and law standards. Engagement in moral acts might enhance individuals’ propensity to engage in subsequent immoral behavior by providing them with moral credits. Two experiments were conducted in which people donated to charity, and then decided whether to cheat on tax. Study 1 was based on an imaginary situation, while in Study 2 real-life monetary payments were introduced. The vast majority of the respondents in both studies (N=218) were taxpayers. Research demonstrated that donating to charity increased the tendency to underreport income (Study 1) and enhanced the tendency to apply for undue tax relief (Study 2). Therefore, within the context of taxation, donating to charity may be a double-edged sword in that it provides people with moral credits, making them feel entitled to cheat when paying taxes.

Keywords

EN

charity; tax cheating; moral licensing

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Polish Psychological Bulletin
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 53
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 261-267

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Sabina Kołodziej

• Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland

• https://orcid.org/0000000274671048

author

Małgorzata Niesiobędzka

• University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland

• https://orcid.org/0000000343035361

Identifiers

DOI

10.24425/ppb.2022.143372

Biblioteka Nauki

55796042