What We Get Wrong About Tax, Fairness and Human Behaviour
7 September 2026
Explore how behavioural science and digital innovation can reshape tax compliance and fairness, as Professor Rita de la Feria examines corporate tax morale and a bold new model for progressive VAT.
Event Synopsis
Session 1 - Corporate Tax Morale (9.00am-10.20am)
This article introduces a novel theoretical framework for understanding the tax morale of corporate taxpayers, identifying five endogenous and six exogenous motivations for tax (non-) compliance. It addresses for the first time a crucial question, namely why is compliance with tax law among small businesses so low, particularly in developing countries. It empirically demonstrates that SMEs’ tax behaviour is influenced by psychological factors, identifying a corporate tax morale that prima facie runs counter to both the legal fiction that holds SMEs as separate entities, and the standard tax policy assumption that VAT is a fully neutral tax for businesses.
Session 2 - Designing a Progressive VAT (10.40am-12pm)
This paper presents a novel approach to addressing VAT regressivity, by proposing the adoption of a progressive VAT: a single-rate, broad-base, VAT, whereby tax paid on consumption is re-paid to lower income households in real-time, at the moment of purchase. Such a system can effectively eliminate regressivity, while minimizing the political economy, cash-flow, and welfare stigma obstacles that are often associated with standard welfare transfers used in modern VAT systems. It would also have other significant advantages, particularly in terms of compliance incentives.
Programme Flow:
Session 1 - Corporate Tax Morale
8.30am - Registration for Session 1
9.00am - Welcome and Introduction for Session 1
9.05am - Corporate Tax Morale
10.05am - Q&A / Closing Remarks
10.30am - End of Session 1
Session 2 - Designing a Progressive VAT
10.00am - Registration for Session 2
10.30am - Welcome and Introduction for Session 2
10.35am - Designing a Progressive VAT
11.35am - Q&A / Closing Remarks
12.00pm - End of Session 2
Note. Please note that the hybrid attendance option is only available when registering for both sessions as a bundle and is not available for individual session sign-ups.
Event Details
Event Details
Date | 7 September 2026 |
Time | 10.30am - 12pm (registration from 10am) |
Format | In-person |
Fee | SGD 109.00 for both sessions $65.40 for one session |
CPE | 1.5 CPE hours |
Registration Link |
About Professor Rita de la Feria
Rita de la Feria is Professor of Tax Law at the University of Leeds, and a Visiting Professor of Law at Oxford University. She was appointed Tax Reform Advisor to the Government of Timor-Leste in 2026, and she is a member of the Advisory Panel of the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) since 2023.