Farrar, Hausserman, and Pinto (2020; hereafter, FHP) provide experimental evidence on the effects of two accountability factors (responsibility and responsiveness) on perceptions of taxpayers' trust in the tax authority1 (e.g., Internal Revenue Service [IRS]) and subsequent tax compliance decisions following taxpayer identity theft. With the growth in identity theft, including taxpayer identity theft, the tax authority faces many issues, including maintaining taxpayer trust and promoting an environment of compliance. However, as prior tax compliance research has shown (V. Braithwaite and J. Braithwaite 2001; Feld and Frey 2002; Torgler 2007; Kirchler, Hoelzl, and Wahl 2008; Alm and Torgler 2011), as trust in the tax authority deteriorates, so will compliance, suggesting that it is important to examine the effects of responsibility and responsiveness on taxpayers' trust and subsequent tax compliance decisions.
The results of FHP are based on the responses from over 480 taxpayers...
