Consumer Reactions to Tax Avoidance: Evidence from the United States and Germany

This research investigates the impact of corporate tax strategies (i.e., tax avoidance and non-avoidance) on consumers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions, willingness to pay (WTP), and attitude toward the firm in two laboratory experiments (n = 409) in the United States and Germany. Using the Becker—DeGroot—Marschak incentive-compatible mechanism, which avoids a social desirability bias found in prior research, our results indicate only a minor indirect effect of corporate tax strategies on WTP by way of the mediator CSR perceptions. However, we find a strong effect on attitude toward the firm again mostly mediated by CSR perceptions. In contrast to German consumers, U.S. consumers' CSR perceptions of tax avoidance are independent of whether a strategy is likely accepted by the tax authorities. Overall, we conclude that CSR perceptions are highly relevant when it comes to consumer responses to tax avoidance.