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Tax Problems and the Elderly: Form Filling and Compliance Costs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Simon James ,
Alan Lewis  and
Julie Maloney
Simon James
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Exeter, England.
Alan Lewis
Affiliation:
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath, England.
Julie Maloney
Affiliation:
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Bath, England.
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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the difficulties elderly taxpayers experience when complying with the tax system operated in the United Kingdom. Some of these problems arise from particular characteristics of the UK system, which are difficult for taxpayers to understand. Results from the survey reported here point to disproportionately high compliance costs experienced by elderly and recently retired taxpayers. The policy implications of these findings are discussed in terms of such matters as the improved distribution of explanatory leaflets and the need for simplification and improved comprehensibility of tax and other bureaucratic literature. Throughout the paper comparisons are drawn particularly between Britain and the USA.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , September 1985 , pp. 305 - 317
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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References

NOTES

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