Tax policy and the news: An empirical analysis of taxpayers’ perceptions of tax-related media coverage and its impact on tax compliance

• We test the slippery slope framework in a real-life context.
• The effects of tax-related media coverage on trust in authorities, perceived power of authorities, and intended tax compliance are examined.
• We find significant effects of trust and power on intended compliance.
• Our data suggests a positive relation between education and indicated trust.

Using a survey-based experiment, this paper examines how tax authorities’ attributes of trust and power, when featured in the media, impact intended tax compliance. We apply excerpts from newspaper coverage on tax issues to manipulate the trustworthiness and power of tax authorities in Austria and assess intended compliance. The experimental treatment shows significant effects on indicated trust, perceived power of tax authorities, and intended tax compliance. Moreover, we observe a strong positive effect of participants’ education on indicated trust.