Inferring Tax Compliance from Pass-Through: Evidence from Airbnb Tax Enforcement Agreements

A-Tier
Journal: Review of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2021
Volume: 103
Issue: 4
Pages: 636-651

Authors (3)

Andrew J. Bibler (not in RePEc) Keith F. Teltser (not in RePEc) Mark J. Tremblay (Miami University)

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Tax enforcement is especially costly when market participants are difficult to observe. The benefits of enforcement depend crucially on pre-enforcement compliance. We derive an upper bound on pre-enforcement compliance from the pass-through of newly enforced taxes. Using data on Airbnb listings and the platform's voluntary collection agreements, we find that taxes are paid on, at most, 24% of Airbnb transactions prior to enforcement. We also find that demand for Airbnb listings is inelastic, driving three key insights: the tax burden falls disproportionately on renters, the excess burden is small, and tax enforcement is relatively ineffective at reducing local Airbnb activity.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:tpr:restat:v:103:y:2021:i:4:p:636-651
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29