Unemployment, tax evasion and the slippery slope framework

Abstract

The proposed theoretical work introduces the basic insights of the ‘slippery slope’ framework into the benchmark macroeconomic model of the labour market in order to study the relation between tax compliance, tax evasion and unemployment. This paper shows that the firm’s decision to evade taxes also depends on trust in tax authorities and affects one of the most important macroeconomic variables: the unemployment rate. Also, the model is able to mimic the crucial interaction between trust and power and its effects on tax compliance. The main result is that with the ‘right mix’ of policy tools of deterrence, trust in tax authorities is maximised, tax compliance increases and a reduction of tax evasion may decrease unemployment.