Niels Johannesen

General seminars
amse seminar

Niels Johannesen

Oxford University
Does global financial transparency improve tax compliance in developing countries?
Joint with
Lauge Truels Larsen, Nadine Riedel
Venue

IBD Amphi

Îlot Bernard du Bois - Amphithéâtre

AMU - AMSE
5-9 boulevard Maurice Bourdet
13001 Marseille

Date(s)
Monday, October 13 2025| 11:30am to 12:45pm
Contact(s)

Ségal Le Guern Herry: segal.le-guern-herry[at]univ-amu.fr
Morgan Raux: morgan.raux[at]univ-amu.fr

Abstract

In a bold move to end offshore tax evasion, around 100 countries have recently embarked on automatic exchange of information about financial income and assets. Drawing on information reports about more than 1 million offshore accounts owned by South Africans, we find that the effect on tax compliance in South Africa is modest: while self-reported foreign financial income increased after the onset of information exchange, it remains below 50% of bank-reported income. Our analysis of comprehensive audit data suggests that the weak compliance effect reflects low utilization of bank-reported information by the tax authorities. In stark contrast to standard theories of tax enforcement with third-party reporting, taxpayers under-reporting foreign financial income face no higher audit probabilities and only slightly higher income adjustments in audits. The results highlight the shortcomings of third-party reporting in contexts where third-party information is imperfect and administrative resources limited.