Previous accounting research shows that taxes affect decision making by individuals and firms. Most studies assume that agents have an accurate perception regarding their tax burden. However, there is a growing body of literature analyzing whether taxes are indeed perceived correctly. We review 128 studies on the measurement of tax misperception and its behavioral implications. The review reveals that many taxpayers have substantial tax misperceptions that lead to biased decision making. We develop a Behavioral Taxpayer Response Model on the impact of provided tax information on tax perception. Besides individual traits, characteristics of the tax information and the decision environment determine the extent of tax misperception. We discuss opportunities for future research and methodological limitations. While there is much evidence on tax misperception at the individual level, we hardly find any research at the firm level. Little is known about the real effects of managers' tax misperception and on how tax information is strategically managed to impact stakeholders. This research gap is surprising as a large part of the accounting literature analyzes decision making and disclosure of firms. We recommend a mixed-method approach combining experiments, surveys, and archival data analyses to improve the knowledge on tax misperception and its consequences.

Eine von Die Grünen/EFA in Auftrag gegebene Studie kommt basierend auf handelsrechtlichen Einzelabschlüssen zum Ergebnis, deutsche Kapitalgesellschaften würden durch erfolgreiche Steuergestaltungen lediglich rund 20 % anstelle der gesetzlich geforderten 30 % an Steuern zahlen. Diese Behauptung hält einer wissenschaftlichen Überprüfung ebenso wenig stand wie die Aussage, große und international agierende Unternehmen hätten eine niedrigere Steuerquote. Wenn bei der Sample-Selection berücksichtigt wird, dass die verwendeten (Handels-)Bilanz-Datenbanken auch Personenunternehmen sowie ganz oder teilweise steuerbefreite Unternehmen beinhalten, und der (95 %ige) Steuerfreistellung von (Schachtel-) Dividenden gemäß § 8b KStG Rechnung getragen wird, ergibt sich eine durchschnittliche Steuerbelastung deutscher Kapitalgesellschaften unabhängig von deren Größe und Internationalität im Bereich des gesetzlichen Nominalsteuersatzes. Jedoch ist darauf hinzuweisen, dass dieses Ergebnis nicht bedeutet, dass es keinerlei Steuergestaltungen zu Lasten des deutschen Fiskus gibt. Nur lassen sich derartige Steuergestaltungen nicht anhand von unternehmerischen Einzelabschlüssen identifizieren.

Previous accounting research shows that taxes affect decision making by individuals and firms. Most studies assume that agents have accurate perception regarding their tax burden. However, there is a growing body of literature analyzing whether taxes are indeed perceived correctly. We review 124 studies on the measurement of tax misperception and its behavioral implications. The review reveals that many taxpayers have substantial tax misperceptions that lead to biased decision making. We develop a Behavioral Taxpayer Response Model on the impact of provided tax information on tax perception. Besides individual traits, characteristics of the tax information and the decision environment determine the extent of tax misperception. We discuss opportunities for future research and methodological limitations. While there is much evidence on tax misperception at the individual level, we hardly find any research at the firm level. Little is known about the real effects of managers' tax misperception and on how tax information is strategically managed to impact stakeholders. This research gap is surprising as a large part of the accounting literature analyzes decision making and disclosure of firms. We recommend a mixed-method approach combining experiments, surveys, and archival data analyses to improve the knowledge on tax misperception and its consequences.

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