Shih-Ying Wu

Tax Effects on Charitable Giving in the Presence of Uncertainty

Taxpayers may feel uncertain about their applicable marginal tax rates, so that estimates of tax effects based on marginal tax rates from tax returns may be misleading because of measurement error. This article incorporates personal uncertainty about marginal tax rates into taxpayer decisions on charitable giving and proposes an empirical specification to model taxpayer formulations of expected marginal tax rates. Based on 1990 data, the income elasticity estimate is consistent with measurement error, although the conventional measure of tax price does not contain significant measurement error. Moreover, the randomness of marginal tax rates exerts a negative effect on charitable giving.

Lottery expenses and charitable contributions - Taiwan's experience

Individuals’ contributions are affected by their lottery outlays if they consider their spending of lottery funds on charities to be a substitute for or a complement to their direct charitable contributions. This study investigates the effect of lottery outlays on charitable contributions based on the experience of lottery introduction in Taiwan. The estimates reveal that lottery outlays exert a positive effect on charitable contributions while the quantitative impact is significant. This study thus provides evidence ameliorating the pessimistic prospect that people may reduce their direct charitable contributions when they spend more on lotteries. Possible explanations for the positive effect are also discussed.

Determinants of Tax Compliance - A Cross-Country Analysis

Country-level factors affect tax compliance, so studies based on cross-country data are crucial for understanding the behavior of tax compliance. This study adopts the first differenced approach to estimating the determinants of tax compliance based on the index of tax compliance for 58 countries over the period 1996-2000. The estimations also allow for the endogeneity of tax rates by incorporating the effects of tax compliance on tax rates. Our estimates demonstrate that the tax burden significantly affects the degree of tax compliance. Moreover, the results show that noneconomic factors are important determinants of tax compliance.

Giving in Taiwan: On the Rise following Economic Growth and Political Democratization

The evolution of Taiwan’s nonprofit sector and private donations closely relates to its political and social circumstances. According to Chen (2008), the earliest historical record of nonprofit groups dates back to the 1950s. Those groups were assembled by local elites, noble families or religious temples and provided poverty relief to those in need. Although they were not well organized, they are still regarded as the origin of nonprofit organizations in Taiwan. In 1949, the Nationalist government emerged in Taiwan and instituted the martial law, denying the right of free speech, assembly and association. Thus, the number of nonprofits grew slowly. During the 1970s and the 1980s, most nonprofit organizations were established through economic aid by other international organizations. Although the number of nonprofits thus increased, the members were mostly limited to a small number of middle-class people and elites of the society.