This study examines whether taxpayers intentionally avoid Internal Revenue Service (IRS) third-party reports. In 2017 an IRS amendment created a quasi-exogenous shock that reduced third-party tax reporting of pari-mutuel gambling winnings from certain types of wagers. I consider the effect that this rule change had on taxpayer behavior. Using a difference-in-differences research design comparing thoroughbred racing in the United States to Canada, I find a 27% increase in gambler's investment into wager-types that became less likely to trigger third-party reports. Further, I provide evidence that this effect was because of third-party reporting, not withholding, and was stronger in more informed gambling populations. These findings suggest that taxpayers knowingly avoid third-party reports, enabling underreporting of income to the IRS. This has important policy implications because underreported individual income is the largest driver of the $496 billion annual gap between legal tax liability and actual tax collections in the United States.

中文翻译：

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玩弄美国国税局的第三方报告系统：来自同注彩池投注的证据

本研究探讨纳税人是否有意回避国税局 (IRS) 第三方报告。2017 年，美国国税局 (IRS) 的一项修正案造成了准外生​​冲击，减少了对某些类型下注的彩池赌博奖金的第三方税务报告。我考虑了这一规则变化对纳税人行为的影响。使用双重差分研究设计比较美国和加拿大的纯种赛马，我发现赌徒对不太可能触发第三方报告的投注类型的投资增加了 27%。此外，我提供的证据表明，这种影响是由于第三方报告而不是隐瞒，并且在信息更丰富的赌博人群中更为强烈。这些调查结果表明，纳税人故意避免第三方报告，从而导致向国税局少报收入。