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Workshop on Tax Evasion by Zareh Asatryan

Workshop on Tax Evasion by Zareh Asatryan, of ZEW and the University of Mannheim, Germany.
Hosted by the Central Bank of Armenia, 6 Vazgen Sargsyan St., Yerevan, 11AM-1PM, August 6, 2018.

Description:

Tax evasion affects the cost of raising taxes as well as the relative burden of taxation along the distribution of income and wealth. Policy attention to tax evasion and enforcement in Armenia has gained substantial momentum after the recent events. Additional revenue raised from the fight against evasion can be used to finance worthy government projects and to cut tax rates for honest taxpayers. However, eliminating tax evasion is not costless, and, therefore, the real policy question is whether eliminating evasion would necessarily improve the efficiency and equity implications of public finances.

In this workshop, we first lay down the important principles of the economics of tax evasion. Focusing mostly on recent empirical contributions, we then sketch the current knowledge in economics beginning from the extent and nature of evasion by firms and individuals. Tax evasion is notoriously hard to uncover, therefore we spend significant attention on the state of the art methods of studying evasion. We then discuss the deterrence and behavioral related factors behind agents’ (non)compliance decisions. The workshop concludes with a discussion on issues related to tax administration, and a conversation on how to best go with fighting evasion given the cost of doing so.

Some prior material on tax and fiscal policy in Armenia is available here: https://sites.google.com/view/asatryan/public-policy-advice.

Location: Central Bank of Armenia, 6 Vazgen Sargsyan St., Yerevan
Duration: 11AM – 1PM

Registration is free but required per security. If interested, please register at the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/xSmuvnSDdzp0Vgko1

About the instructor:
Dr. Zareh Asatryan is a senior researcher in ZEW’s Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance”, and a lecturer at the University of Mannheim. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Freiburg. For more, see https://www.zew.de/en/team/zas/

AEA thanks CBA for hosting the workshop, and Dr. Asatryan for his presentation.

AEA employs the conference and workshop formats to advance scholarship in economics and create an environment nurturing of research. Please write us back with your feedback on this and past events and suggestions for future academic gatherings.