Do Government-Spending-Induced Deficits Lower Tax Compliance?

This study empirically investigates the deficit/tax-compliance hypothesis that higher federal budget deficits resulting from increased government spending lead to decreased federal personal income tax compliance in the U.S. The study period runs from 1960-2001 and adopts annual data. After allowing for a variety of factors that have been found previously to influence tax compliance/evasion, it is found that income tax evasion is an increasing function of budget deficits resulting from federal government spending increases.