Taxes and Trust: From Coercion to Compliance in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine

Taxes and Trust is the first book on taxes to focus on trust and the first work of social science to concentrate on how tax policy actually gets implemented on the ground in Poland, Russia and Ukraine. It highlights the nuances of the transitional Ukraine case and explains precisely how and why that 'borderland' country differs from the more ideal-types of coercive Russia and compliance-oriented Poland. Through nine bespoke taxpayer surveys, an unprecedented bureaucratic survey and more than fifteen years of qualitative research, the book emphasizes the building and accumulation of trust to transition from a coercive tax state to a compliant one. The context of the book will appeal to students and scholars of taxation worldwide and to those who study Russia and Eastern Europe.

'Taxes and Trust is an outstanding book. Combining extensive field research, surveys and a deep knowledge of how tax administration works in Poland, Russia and the Ukraine, Berenson offers insights that go far beyond tax and tax compliance. Taxes and Trust teaches us that effective governance requires both administrative efficiency and procedural justice.' - Sven Steinmo, Robert Schuman Professor, European University Institute, Florence