# Tax Morale of Immigrants

## TL;DR

This study finds that immigrants have lower tax morale than natives, but this gap closes over time as they identify more with the host country.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel analysis of how identification with the host country and perceived tax-benefit reciprocity influence immigrant tax morale over time.

## Key findings

- Immigrants have lower tax morale than natives, partly due to weaker identification with the host country.
- Dissatisfaction with tax-benefit reciprocity partially buffers the negative relationship between identification and tax morale.
- After 25 years in the host country, immigrant tax morale aligns with that of natives.

## Abstract

This study examined how perceived tax–benefit reciprocity and identification with the country explain tax morale of immigrants versus the native-born population, and how immigrants’ tax morale evolves over time. The study used data from an online survey of 536 people of working age, which were analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis in AMOS, the PROCESS procedure, and ANOVA with Scheffe tests in SPSS ver. 28. The results showed that immigrants have lower tax morale than natives, which is partly explained by their weaker identification with the host country. Low dissatisfaction of immigrants with received benefits versus paid taxes partially buffers the negative relationship between identification and tax morale. After 25 years of residing in the host country, differences in tax morale between immigrants and natives largely disappear, suggesting a gradual process of adjustment and alignment with host society norms. Policy implications of the study suggest that tax morale among immigrants can be improved by strengthening their identification with the host country and enhancing perceptions of fairness in the tax–benefit exchange.