WP 16: Gender differences in Tax Evasion: Evidence from Norwegian Administrative Data

Abstract

Using the expenditure approach and administrative data on third-party reported
donations, we estimate tax evasion by gender. While men are more prone to risktaking, we find no evidence of this transferring to income underreporting among the self-employed in Norway. Instead, self-employed women evade more than men. This tendency holds when controlling for sector affiliation and using household fixed effects and event study equivalents. We find that self-employed women face lower chances of penalty taxes and lighter penalties when caught, possibly due to biased predictive models, which may explain their higher evasion rates.

Keywords: Tax Evasion and Avoidance; Gender; Tax Enforcement; Charity

JEL classification: H25; H26; J16