The aim of the project is to distinguish the power dimension in the SSF (Kirchler, 2007; Kirchler et al., 2008) in terms of the perception of coercive and legitimate power.

It is assumed that these two forms of power differ in their influence on trust and subsequently on tax cooperation. Coercive power reduces trust, while legitimate power increases trust. Low trust leads to enforced tax compliance and high trust to voluntary tax cooperation.

Additionally, it is expected that changes of the intensity (low vs. high) and quality (coercive vs. legitimate) of power have an impact on trust and tax cooperation.