<p>Leveraging the “Implementation Outline for the Construction of Civic Morality in the New Era” promulgated in 2019 as a quasi-natural experiment, we examine the impact of the moral norm initiative on corporate tax compliance using data of Chinese A-share listed firms. The results show that the moral norm initiative significantly enhances corporate tax compliance by improving the quality of internal control information disclosure and increasing media attention. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of the moral norm initiative on tax compliance is more pronounced in firms operating in environments with low economic policy uncertainty, strong tax enforcement, and high institutional ownership. The economic consequence analysis demonstrates that increased corporate tax compliance resulting from the moral norm initiative can significantly increase firm value, promote firm innovation, and reduce analyst concerns. This study enriches the literature on corporate tax compliance and offers insights for improving tax policy and promoting corporate social responsibility.</p>