Tax compliance costs and firm growth: evidence from Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the causal effect of the tax burden reduction and simplification promoted by the Simples National Program (Law 127/2006) on the growth of Micro and Small Enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil. Based on RAIS microdata over the period 2003-2012, we select a sample of establishments from the three main sectors of activity in Brazil: commerce, industry and services. Such establishments, homogeneous in their economic structure are divided into groups of Control (the ones that never became eligible to Simples National) and Treatment (the ones that became eligible to Simples National in 2007 or after). We used the differences-in-differences model, allowing the effect to be heterogeneous at the time of operation of the program by the firms. The results obtained suggest evidences of consistency in the causal effect of the Simples National over the growth rates of firms in the commerce and industry sectors. For the service sector, the results are not robust.