tax evasion dissertation topics

How it works

Useful Links

How much will your dissertation cost?

Have an expert academic write your dissertation paper!

Dissertation Services

Get unlimited topic ideas and a dissertation plan for just £45.00

Order topics and plan

Get 1 free topic in your area of study with aim and justification

Yes I want the free topic

50+ Focused Taxation Research Topics For Your Dissertation

Published by Ellie Cross at December 29th, 2022 , Revised On May 2, 2024

A thorough understanding of taxation involves drawing from multiple sources to understand its goals, strategies, techniques, standards, applications, and many types. Tax dissertations require extensive research across a variety of areas and sources to reach a conclusive result. It is important to understand and present tax dissertation themes well since they deal with technical matters.

Choosing the right topic in the area of taxation can assist students in understanding how much insight and knowledge they can contribute and the tools they will need to authenticate their study.

If you are not sure what to write about, here are a few top taxation dissertation topics to inspire you .

The Most Pertinent Taxation Topics & Ideas

The effects of tax evasion and avoidance on and the supporting data
How does budgeting affect the management of tertiary institutions?
How does intellectual capital affect the development and growth of huge companies, using Microsoft and Apple as examples?
The importance and function of audit committees in South Africa and China: similarities and disparities
How taxation can aid in closing the fiscal gap in the UK economy’s budget
A UK study comparing modern taxation and the zakat system
Is it appropriate to hold the UK government accountable for subpar services even after paying taxes?
Taxation’s effects on both large and small businesses
The impact of foreign currencies on the nation’s economy and labour market and their detrimental effects on the country’s tax burden
A paper explaining the importance of accounting in the tax department
To contribute to the crucial growth of the nation, do a thorough study on enhancing tax benefits among American residents
A thorough comparison of current taxes and the Islamic zakat system is presented. Which one is more beneficial and effective for reducing poverty?
According to the most recent academic study on tax law, what essential improvements are needed to implement tax laws in the UK?
A thorough investigation of Australian tax department employees’ active role in assisting residents of all Commonwealth states to pay their taxes on time.
Why establishing a taxation system is essential for a country’s growth
What is the tax system’s greatest benefit to the poor?
Is it legitimate to lower the income tax so that more people begin paying it?
What is the most significant investment made using tax revenue by the government?
Is it feasible for the government to create diverse social welfare policies without having the people pay the appropriate taxes?
How tax avoidance by people leads to an imbalance in the government budget
What should deter people from trying to avoid paying taxes on time?
Workers of the tax department’s role in facilitating tax evasion through corruption
Investigate the changes that should be made to the current taxation system. A case study based on the most recent UK tax studies
Examine the variables that affect the amount of income tax UK people are required to pay
An analysis of the effects of intellectual capital on the expansion and development of large businesses and multinationals. An Apple case study
A comparison of the administration and policy of taxes in industrialised and emerging economies
A detailed examination of the background and purposes of international tax treaties. How successful were they?
An examination of the effects of taxation on small and medium-sized enterprises compared to giant corporations
An examination of the effects of tax avoidance and evasion. An analysis of the worldwide Panama crisis and how tax fraud was carried out through offshore firms
A critical analysis of how the administration of higher institutions is impacted by small business budgeting
Recognising the importance of foreign currency in a nation’s economy. How can foreign exchange and remittances help a nation’s finances?
An exploration of the best ways tax professionals may persuade customers to pay their taxes on time
An investigation of the potential impact of tax and accounting education on the achievement of the nation’s leaders
How the state might expand its revenue base by focusing on new taxing areas. Gaining knowledge of the digital content creation and freelance industries
An evaluation of the negative impacts of income tax reduction. Will it prompt more people to begin paying taxes?
A critical examination of the state’s use of tax revenue for human rights spending. A UK case study
A review of the impact of income tax on new and small enterprises. Weighing the benefits and drawbacks
A comprehensive study of managing costs so that money may flow into the national budget without interruption. A study of Norway as an example
An overview of how effective taxes may contribute to a nation’s development of a welfare state. A study of Denmark as an example
What are the existing problems that prevent the government systems from using the tax money they receive effectively and completely?
What are people’s opinions of those who frequently avoid paying taxes?
Explain the part tax officials play in facilitating tax fraud by accepting small bribes
How do taxes finance the growth and financial assistance of the underprivileged in the UK?
Is it appropriate to criticise the government for not providing adequate services when people and businesses fail to pay their taxes?
A comprehensive comparison of current taxes and the Islamic zakat system is presented. Which one is more beneficial and effective for reducing poverty?
A critical evaluation of the regulatory organisations was conducted to determine the tax percentage on different income groups in the UK.
An investigation into tax evasion: How do wealthy, influential people influence the entire system?
To contribute to the crucial growth of the nation, conduct a thorough investigation of enhancing tax benefits among British nationals.
An assessment of the available research on the most effective ways to manage and maintain an uninterrupted flow of funds for a better economy.
The effect and limitations of bilateral and multilateral tax treaties in addressing double taxation and preventing tax evasion.
Assess solutions: OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and explore the implications for multinational corporations.
The Impact of Tax cuts in Obtaining Social, monetary, and Aesthetic Ends That Benefit the Community.
Exploring the Effect of Section 1031 of the Tax Code During Transactions on Investors and Business People.
Investigating the role of environmental taxes and incentives in addressing global environmental challenges.
Evaluating the impact of increased transparency on multinational enterprises and global efforts to combat tax evasion and illicit financial flows.
Exploring the health and financial effects of a proposed policy to increase the excise tax on cigarettes.

Hire an Expert Writer

Orders completed by our expert writers are

Formally drafted in an academic style
Free Amendments and 100% Plagiarism Free – or your money back!
100% Confidential and Timely Delivery!
Free anti-plagiarism report
Appreciated by thousands of clients. Check client reviews

We hope that you will be able to write a first-class dissertation or thesis on one of the issues identified above at your own pace and submit a solid draft. If you wish to use any of the above taxation dissertation topics directly, you may do so. Many people, however, prefer tailor-made topics that meet their specific needs. If you need help with topics or a taxation dissertation, you can also use our dissertation writing services . Place your order now !

Free Dissertation Topic

Phone Number

Academic Level Select Academic Level Undergraduate Graduate PHD

Academic Subject

Area of Research

Frequently Asked Questions

How to find taxation dissertation topics.

To find taxation dissertation topics:

Study recent tax reforms.
Analyse cross-border tax issues.
Explore digital taxation challenges.
Investigate tax evasion or avoidance.
Examine environmental tax policies.
Select a topic aligned with law, economics, or business interests.

Factors influencing taxpayers to engage in tax evasion: evidence from Woldia City administration micro, small, and large enterprise taxpayers

Erstu Tarko Kassa ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8199-4910 1

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship volume 10 , Article number: 8 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

72k Accesses

15 Citations

6 Altmetric

Metrics details

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion. The researcher used descriptive and explanatory research design and followed a quantitative research approach. To undertake this study, primary and secondary data has been utilized. From the target population of 4979, by using a stratified and simple random sampling technique, 370 respondents were selected. To verify the data quality, the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted for each variable measurements. After factor analysis has been done, the data were analyzed by using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The finding of the study revealed that the relationship between the study independent variables with the dependent variable was positive and statistically significant. The regression analysis also indicates that tax fairness, tax knowledge, and moral obligation significantly influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion, and the remaining moral obligation and subjective norms were not statistically significant to influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

Introduction

In developed and developing countries, business owners, government workers, service providers, and other organizations are forced by the government to pay a tax for a long period in human being history, and no one can escape from the tax of the country. To support this, there is an interesting statement mentioned by Benjamin Franklin “nothing is certain except death and taxes”. This statement confirmed that every citizen should be subjected to the law of tax, and they are obliged to pay the tax from their income. To build large dams, to construct transportation infrastructures, and to provide quality social services for the community, collecting a tax from citizens plays a significant role for the governments (Saxunova and Szarkova, 2018 ).

Tax is the benchmark and turning point of the country’s overall development and changing the livelihoods and enhancing per capital income of the individuals. The gross domestic product of the developed countries and average revenue ratio were 35% in the year 2005, whereas in developing countries the share was 15% and in third world countries also not more than 12% (Mughal, 2012 ).

In the developing world, countries have no system to collect a sufficient amount of tax from their taxpayers. The expected amount of revenue cannot be enhanced due to different reasons. Among the reasons tax operation of the system may not be smooth, tax evasion and lack of awareness creation for the taxpayers are common in the developing world, and citizens are not committed to paying the expected amount of tax for their countries (Fagbemi et al., 2010 ). In today’s world, this remains very much the same as persons now pay taxes to their governments. As the world has evolved, tax compliance has taken a back seat with tax avoidance and tax evasion being at the forefront of the taxpayer’s main objective. Tax avoidance is the use of legal means to reduce one’s tax liability while tax evasion is the use of illegal means to reduce that tax liability (Alleyne & Harris, 2017 ). Tax evasion is a danger to the community; the countries and international organizations have been making an effort to fight undesirable phenomena related to taxation, the tax evasion, or tax fraud (Saxunova and Szarkova, 2018 ).

Tax evasion may brings a devastating loss for the country's GDP at the micro level, and it became a debatable and a special concern for tax collector authorities (Aumeerun et al., 2016 ). The participants in tax evasion activity critized by different individuals and groups by considering the loss that brings to the country economy (Alleyne & Harris, 2017 ).

According to Dalu et al., ( 2012 ) state that in the Zimbabwe tax system there are identical devils tax evasion and tax avoidance that create a problem for the government to collect a tax from taxpayers. Like Zimbabwe, many nations have faced challenges to cover the annual budget and to construct different infrastructures due to the budget deficit created by tax evasion (Alleyne & Harris, 2017 ; Turner, 2010 ).

Scholars especially economists agreed that tax evasion may be considered a technical problem that exists in the tax collection system, whereas psychologists believed that tax evasion is a social problem for the countries (Terzić, 2017 ).

Tax evasion practices are more worsen in developing countries than when we compare against the developed countries. Tax evasion is like a pandemic for the countries because they are unable to control it. Therefore, governments were negatively affected by tax evasion to improve the life standard of its citizens and to allocate a budget for public expenditure, and it became a disease for the country’s economy and estimated to cost 20% of income tax revenue (Ameyaw et al., 2015 ; degl’Innocenti & Rablen, 2019 ; Palil et al., 2016 ).

Several factors may lead taxpayers to engage in tax evasion. Among the factors, tax knowledge, tax morale, tax system, tax fairness, compliance cost, attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and moral obligation are major factors (Alleyne & Harris, 2017 ; Rantelangi & Majid, 2018 ). Other factors have also a significant effect on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion practice such as capital intensity, leverage, fiscal loss, compensation, profitability, contextual tax awareness, interest rate, inflation, average tax rate, gender, and ethical tax awareness on tax evasion (Annan et al., 2014 ; AlAdham et al., 2016 ; Putra et al., 2018 ).

According to Woldia City Administration Revenue Office annual report ( 2019/2020 ) from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, 232,757,512 birr was planned to be collected from taxpayers; however, the office was able to collect only 198,537,785.25 birr; however, the remaining 34,219,726.75 birr have not been collected by the office from the taxpayers. The reason behind this was there might be some factors that lead to taxpayers not to pay the annual tax from their annual income. Based on the review of the previous studies and by diagnosing the tax collection system in the city administration, the researcher identified the gaps. The first gap that motivated the researcher to undertake this study is that the prior studies did not address the factors that influence the tax collection system of Ethiopia, specifically, there is no research result that was able to show which factors influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion in the Woldia city administration. The other gap is the previous study focused on the demographic, economic, social, and other factors. However, this study mainly focused on the behavioral and other factors that lead taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

To indicate the benefit of this study, the study specifies on which critical factors the authority will focus on to enhance annual revenue and to aware tax payers of the devastating impact of tax evasion. Moreover, the paper may bring new insights on tax evasion influential non-economic factors that the researchers may give more emphasis on the upcoming researches. This paper will also contribute innovative ways to know the reasons why tax payers engage in tax evasion and inform the authority at which factors they will struggle to reduce their influence and to enhance revenue. The study can be an evidence that the tax authority should launch innovative techniques to control tax evasion practices. Moreover, applying fair tax system in the collectors’ side, the enterprises become innovative and will expand their business.

To sum up, in this study, the researcher examined which factor (tax knowledge, tax fairness, subjective norms, moral obligation, and attitude towards the behavior) influences taxpayers to engage in tax evasion activities. Based on the above discussion, the objective of the study is to examine factors that influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion in Woldia city administration.

Literature review

Tax and tax evasion.

Tax is charged by the government to the business, governmental organization, and individual without any return forwarded from the authority. Tax can be categorized as direct tax which is collected from the profit of the companies and the incomes of individuals, and the other category of tax is an indirect tax collected from consumers’ payment (James and Nobes, 1999 ).

Tax evasion is a word explaining individuals, groups, and companies rejecting the expected amount of payment for the authority. It is a criminal offense on the view of law (Nangih & Dick, 2018 ). The overall procedure of tax collection faced different challenges especially tax evasion the most important one. Tax evasion is done intentionally by taxpayers by avoiding and hiding different documents that become evidence for the tax collection authorities. It is simply an illegal act to pay the true amount of the tax (Aumeerun et al., 2016 ; Storm, 2013 ). Tax evasion is a crime that is able to distort the overall economic, political, and social system of the country. The economic aspect of tax evasion affects fair distribution of wealth for the citizens. The social aspect also creates different social groups motivated by tax evasion discouraged by these individuals due to unfair competition (AlAdham et al., 2016 ). Tax evasion is a mal-activity that reduces the amount of tax paid by the payers. Perhaps the taxpayers who engaged in evasion activity may be supported by the legislative of the country (Kim, 2008 ; Putra et al., 2018 ; Allingham & Sandmo, 1972 ). According to Al Baaj et al. ( 2018 ) argument, there are two types of tax evasions. The first one is the legal evasion or tax avoidance which is supported by the legislation of the countries and the right is given for the taxpayer, but it is not constitutional (Gallemore & Labro, 2015 ; Zucman, 2014 ).

Theoretical reviews on factors affecting tax evasion

The illegal activity done by taxpayers has many determinants that lead them to engage in tax evasion. Among the factors that trigger taxpayers who participate in this activity are the economic factors. Under the economic factors, business sanctions, business stagnation, and the amount of tax burden are considered as influential factors. On the other hand, legal factors, social factors, demographic factors, mental factors, and moral factors are the most important factors (Saxunova and Szarkova, 2018 ). Many factors determine the taxpayers’ interest to engage in tax evasion. Among the factors, the following are considered under this review.

The factors that able to influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion are moral obligation . It is a principle and a duty of taxpayers by paying a reasonable amount of tax for the tax authorities without the enforcement of others. It is an intrinsic motivation of payers paying the tax (Sadjiarto et al., 2020 ). When taxpayers have low tax morals, they will become negligent to pay their allotted tax, and they will engage in tax evasion (Alm & Torgler, 2006 ; Frey & Oberholzer-Gee, 1997 ; Torgler et al., 2008 ). According to Feld and Frey ( 2007 ), when tax officials are responsible and provide respect in their duties toward taxpayers, tax morale or the honesty of taxpayers will increase. Tax morals may be affected by a demographic and another factor like income level, marital status, and religion (Rantelangi & Majid, 2018 ). It is the determinant behavior of tax payers whether they participate or not. Tax morals can affect positively taxpayers to engage in tax evasion (Nangih & Dick, 2018 ; Terzić, 2017 ). It is known that taxes levied by the concerned authority are ethical. As cited by Ozili ( 2020 ), McGee ( 2006 ) argues that there are three basic views on the ethics and moral of tax evasion. The first view is tax evasion is unethical and should not be practice by any payer, the second argument deals that the state is illegal and has no moral authority to take anything from anyone, and the last argument is tax evasion can be ethical under some conditions and unethical under other situations; therefore, the decision to evade tax is an ethical dilemma which considers several factors (Robert, 2012 ). Therefore, the discussion leads to the following hypothesis:

H 1 . Moral obligation has a negative influence on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

The other factor that influences taxpayers to engage in tax evasion is tax fairness . Tax fairness is a non-economic factor that determines the tax collection of the country (Alkhatib et al., 2019 ). It is known that the tax collection procedures, principles, and implementation must be fair. Unethical behavior may happen due to the unfairness of the tax collection process. The fairness of tax may influence payers positively to pay the tax. When the tax rate is not reasonable and fair, the payers will regret to engage in the tax evasion practices and they will inform authorities their annual income without denying the exact amount. Considering the ability of paying or acceptable tax rates helps to maintain the fairness of the taxation system (Rantelangi & Majid, 2018 ). The governments choose to levy in what amounts and on whom will pay a high tax rate (Thu, 2017 ). The tax rate is a factor that induces taxpayers to pay less amount from their income. The rate of tax should be fair and reasonable for the payers (Ozili, 2020 ). As cited by Gandhi et al. ( 1995 ) the Allingham and Sandmo’s model, Allingham and Sandmo ( 1972 ) shows that the tax rate on payment can be positive, zero, or negative, which implies that an increase in the tax rate may cause the tax payment to increase, remain the same, or decrease. The theoretical literature could not evidence the claim that an increase in the tax rate will lead to an increase in tax evasion (Gandhi et al., 1995 ). The fairness of tax is controversial and argumentative because there may not happen a similar amount of tax for all payers (Abera, 2019 ). Thus, based on this ground the study hypothesis would be:

H 2 . Tax fairness has a positive influence on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

Tax knowledge is vital for taxpayers to know the cause and effect brought to them to engage in tax evasion. If tax payers are well informed about tax evasion, their participation in tax evasion would be infrequent; the reverse is true for a taxpayer who is not well informed. Tax-related information should give more emphasis to enhance the knowledge of taxpayers and experts of the authority (Poudel, 2017 ). Tax knowledge is a means to enhance the revenue of the country from the side of tax payers (Sadjiarto et al., 2020 ). If the authorities cascade different training for taxpayers about tax evasion and other tax-related issues, taxpayers become reluctant to engage in tax evasion (Rantelangi & Majid, 2018 ). Tax knowledge is a determinant factor for the taxpayer to engage and retain from the tax evasion activities (Abera, 2019 ). When taxpayers are undertaking their routine tasks without tax knowledge, they may involve in certain risks that expose them to engage in tax evasion (Thu, 2017 ). Thus, the discussion leads to the following hypothesis:

H 3 . Tax knowledge has a negative influence on taxpayers engaged in tax evasion.

The stakeholders, government experts, families, individuals, groups, and peers influence taxpayers whether they engaged in tax evasion or not (Alleyne & Harris, 2017 ). As cited by Alkhatib et al. ( 2019 ), the influence of peer groups on tax taxpayers is high, thus affecting the taxpayers’ preferences, personal values, and behaviors to engage in tax evasion (Puspitasari & Meiranto, 2014 ). The stakeholders around the taxpayers might be motivators to push taxpayers in the criminal act of tax evasion. This act called subjective norms meant that the payers are influenced by peers and other stakeholders. When the tax payer is reluctant to pay a tax for the authority, his/her friends are more likely to hide tax. As cited by Abera ( 2019 ), there is a strong relationship between social norms and subjective norms with tax evasion and affects the small business taxpayers (Nabaweesi, 2009 ). The above discussion can support the following hypothesis of the study:

H 4 . Subjective norms have a positive influence on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

The other factor that influences taxpayers to engage in tax evasion is an attitude towards the behavior of taxpayers. Attitude is a means of evaluating the activities whether they are positive or negative of any object. Many studies have been done by different scholars by defining and identifying the relationship between the attitudes of taxpayers with tax evasion (Alleyne & Harris, 2017 ). If the attitude of taxpayers towards taxation is negative, they will be reluctant to pay their obligation to the authority; the reverse is true when taxpayers have positive attitudes towards taxation (Abera, 2019 ). Based on the above discussion, the hypothesis of the study would be as follows:

H 5 . Tax payers’ attitude towards the behavior has a positive influence on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

Conceptual framework of the study

The researcher identified the variables and presented the relationship between independent and dependent variables as follows (Fig. 1 ):

Conceptual framework of the study. Adapted from Alleyne and Harris ( 2017 ) and Rantelangi and Majid ( 2018 )

Materials and methods

The researcher applied descriptive and explanatory research design to carry out this study. The explanatory research design enables the researcher to show the cause and effect relationship between independent and dependent variables, and the descriptive research also helps to describe the event as it is. The quantitative approach has been followed by the researcher to analyze and interpret the numerical data collected from the respondents. The researcher used primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected from the respondents by using questionnaires, and the secondary data was also collected from the reports, websites, and other sources.

The target population of the study was 4979 taxpayers (micro, small, and large enterprises). From the total taxpayers, 377 are categorized under level “A,” 207 are under level “B,” and the remaining 4395 taxpayers are categorized under level “C”. From the target population by using a stratified sampling technique, the respondents have been selected. The target population has been divided by the level of taxpayers; after dividing the population by level, the researcher applied a simple random sampling technique to select respondents. To identify the target participants or sample size in this study, the researcher used Yamane’s ( 1967 ) formula. Hence, the formula is described as follows:

where N = target population, n = sample size, e = error term

Based on the sample size, the respondents have participated proportionally as follows from each level. The total population was divided by strata based on the level categorized by the authorities. By using a simple random sampling technique, 28 respondents were from level “A,” 15 respondents from level “B,” and 327 respondents from level “C” have participated.

Regarding data collection instruments , the data was collected by self-administered standardized questionnaires. The variable of the study a moral obligation was measured by 4 items; after conducting factor analysis, the fourth variable or questionnaire has been removed and after that correlation and regression analysis has been done for 3 items; the value of Cronbach’s alpha was .711; the other factor attitude towards the behavior was measured by 4 items with a value of .804 Cronbach’s alpha; the third variable subjective norms was also measured by 4 items; the value of Cronbach’s Alpha was .887, and tax evasion was measured by 5 items; the Cronbach’s alpha value was .868. For the above-listed variables, the questionnaires were adapted from Alleyne and Harris ( 2017 ), and the remaining variable tax fairness was measured by 7 items, the Cronbach’s alpha value was .905, the items were adapted from Benk et al. ( 2012 ), and the last variable tax knowledge was measured by 5 items. However, after conducting factor analysis, the fifth item has been removed due to low value of the variable. After the removal of the fifth item, the Cronbach’s alpha value for the remaining items was .800, the items were adapted from Poudel ( 2017 ). For all variables, the researcher has used a five-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

To analyze the collected data, the researcher used descriptive statistics analysis, factor analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis to know the result of variables by using SPSS Version 22. Moreover, the model of the study is described as follows:

where Y = tax evasion, X 1 = moral obligation, X 2 = tax fairness, X 3 = tax knowledge, X 4 = subjective norms, and X 5 = attitude towards the behavior, β = beta coefficient, B 0 = constant, e = other factors not included in the study (0.05 random error).

Results and discussion

Level of respondents.

As indicated in Table 1 from the total respondents, 88.4% are categorized under level “C,” 4.1% are leveled under “B,” and the remaining 7.6% of respondents have been categorized under level “A”.

Factor analysis of the study variables

To undertake exploratory factor analysis, the data should fulfill the following assumptions. The first assumption is the variables should be ratio, interval, and ordinal; the second one is within the variables there should be linear associations; the third assumption is a simple size should range from 100 to 500; and the last assumption is the data without outliers. Thus, this study data have been checked by the researcher whether the data meets the assumption or not. After checking the assumptions, factor analysis was conducted as follows.

KMO and Bartlett’s test

Conducting KMO and Bartlett’s test is a precondition to conduct the factor analysis of the study measuring variables. KMO measures the adequacy of the sample of the study. In the result reported in Table 2 , the value was 0.883 and enough for the factor analysis. Related with Bartlett test as shown in Table 2 , the value is 5727.623 ( p < 0.001), which reveals the adequacy of data using factor analysis.

As shown in Table 3 , factors were extracted from study data; there was a linear relationship between variables. From the table, we can understand that 6 variables have more than one eigenvalue. The first factor scored the value 31.782 of the variance, the second value is 11.739 of the variance, the third factor scored 8.246 of the variance, the fourth factor accounts for 6.725 of the variance, the fifth factor also accounts for 5.233, and the last factor scored 4.123 of the variance. All six factors were explained cumulatively by 67.85% of the variance.

As shown in the Fig. 2 , the scree plot starts to turn down slowly at the low eigenvalue which is less than 1. The six factors eigenvalue is greater than one.

Scree plot. Source: own survey (2020)

The pattern matrix is shown in Table 4 which is able to show the loading of each variable and the relationship of variables in the study. The highest value among the factors measured the variable considerably. The cutoff point of loading was set at .35 and above. Based on the loading cutoff point except two factors, all are significant and analyzed under this study. From the six variables (five independent and one dependent) incorporated under this study, the identified factors show that how significantly enough to measure the situation. These factors have scored greater than 1 eigenvalue and able to explain 67.85% of the variance. In general, the detail variables and their factor are described as follows:

The first component tax fairness has 7 factors; the eigenvalue is 8.58 and able to explain 31.78 of the total variance. In this component, the highest contributed factor was item TF3 (weight = .925), TF5 (weight = .865), TF1 (weight = .859), TF2 (weight = .778), TF4 (.668), TF6 (weight = .614), and TF7 (weight = .568). The second component was tax evasion and has 5 items; the eigenvalue is 3.17 and explaining 11.73 of the variance. The factor weight of the items, TE4 (factor weight = .860), TE5 (factor weight = .810), TE3 (factor weight = .730), TE2 (factor weight = .650), and the last one is TE1 (factor weight = .606). The third component was subjective norms; it has 4 factors the weight of each factor described as follows. The first item SNS1 weight = .898, SNS2 factor weight = .887, SNS4 factor weight = .846, and SNS3 factor weight = .820. Moreover, the eigenvalue of this component is 2.226 and explained 8.246 of the variance of the study. The fourth component is an attitude towards the behavior. This variable has four factors that have 1.816 eigenvalue and explained 6.725 of the total variance. Among the items, ATB2 factor weight = .863, ATB1 factor weight = .792, ATB3 factor weight = .791 and the last factor is ATB4 factor weight = .500. The fifth component of the study is tax knowledge; at the very beginning of this variable, the researcher adapted five items. However, one item (TK5) was not significant and removed from this analysis. In this component, the highest value was scored by TK3 (factor weight = .866), the second highest TK2 (factor weight = .801), the third highest factor weight (weight = .700), and the last factor is TK4 (weight = .690). The eigenvalue of this component was 1.413 and explained 5.233% of the variance. The last component is a moral obligation; like tax knowledge, the researcher adapted for this variable 4 items, though, one item (MO4) was not significant and removed from the items list. The eigenvalue of this component was 1.113 and explained 4.123 of the variance. From the items, MO1 scored the highest factor weight of .891, the second highest weight in this component was MO3 with a factor weight of .854, and the third highest factor weight was scored by MO3 with a value of .508.

Association analysis of the study variables

To analyze the correlation between variables as shown in the Table 5 , the relation between subjective norms with taxpayers engaged in tax evasion is r = 0.240 ( p < 0.05); this indicates that there is a statistically significant relationship between the two variables. The relationship between ATB with TE, MO with TE, TK with TE, and TF with TE, the Pearson correlation result is r = 0.318 ( p < 0.05), r = 0.371 ( p < 0.05), .446, and r = 0.691 ( p < 0.05) respectively and statistically significant. It implies that the independent variables have a positive relationship with the dependent variable of the study with a statistically significant level of p < 0.05 and n = 370.

Effect analysis of the study variables

As shown in Table 6 , the study independent variables (SNS, ATB, MO, TK, and TF) explained the study dependent variable (TE) by 54.9%. This result indicates that there are other variables that explain the dependent variable by 45.1% which has not been investigated under this study.

Hypothesis test

The proposed hypothesis of the study has been tested based on the coefficient of regression and the “ p ” value of the study variables. The detail result is described as follows:

As shown in Table 7 , moral obligation influences positively the taxpayers to engage in tax evasion activities with a beta value of .177 and p < .05. This result entails that the taxpayers are influenced by other stakeholders to engage in tax evasion, and they have low moral value to pay the tax levied by the government. This result is supported by the finding of Alleyne and Harris ( 2017 ), Rantelangi and Majid ( 2018 ), and Sadjiarto et al. ( 2020 ). Thus, the hypothesis related to this variable has been rejected because moral obligation influences positively taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

H 2 . Tax fairness has a positive influence on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion

To minimize the participation of taxpayers engaged in tax evasion, tax fairness plays a significant role. The regression result indicates in Table 7 that tax fairness positively influences the taxpayers to engage in tax evasion. This result is similar to the finding of Majid et al., ( 2017 ) and contradicts with the finding of Rantelangi and Majid ( 2018 ) and Alkhatib et al. ( 2019 ). Accordingly, the proposed hypothesis has been accepted because the beta value is .563 and the p value is less than .05.

H 3 . Tax knowledge has a negative influence on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion

Table 7 shows that tax knowledge influences the taxpayers positively to engaged in tax evasion. The beta value is .183 and the value is p = 0.00. It is known that when the taxpayers were not well informed about the importance of tax for the country development and the devastating issues of tax evasion, they will be forced to engage in tax evasion. This finding contradicts the finding of Rantelangi and Majid ( 2018 ) and is supported by the finding of AlAdham et al. ( 2016 ). To conclude, the proposed hypothesis rejected because tax knowledge positively influenced the taxpayers to engage in tax evasion.

H 4 . Subjective norms have a positive influence on taxpayers engaged in tax evasion

Table 7 indicates that subjective norms have not been significantly influenced positively by the taxpayers engaged in tax evasion, which means taxpayers were not influenced by others to participate in tax evasion activities. This result is consistent with the finding of Alleyne and Harris ( 2017 ). Thus, the proposed hypothesis is rejected because the variable of subjective norms was not statistically significant with a p value of .099.

H 5 . Tax payers’ attitude towards the behavior has a positive influence on taxpayers to engage in tax evasion

As indicated in Table 7 , attitudes toward the behavior were not significantly influencing the taxpayers to participate in tax evasion with the p value of .985. However, according to the study conducted by Alleyne and Harris ( 2017 ), attitude toward the behavior significantly predicts the intentions of taxpayers to engage in tax evasion. This finding contradicts with this study result. To conclude, the proposed hypothesis has been rejected because the variable is not statistically significantly influencing the taxpayers to engage in tax evasion activities.

According to Table 7 through the examination of coefficients, moral obligation had a positive effect on tax evasion having a coefficient of .197. This means that a 1% change in moral obligation keeping the other things remain constant can result to motivate taxpayers to engage in tax evasion by 19.7% in the same direction. This finding is similar to the result of Alleyne and Harris ( 2017 ), Nangih and Dick ( 2018 ), Rantelangi and Majid ( 2018 ), and Sadjiarto et al. ( 2020 ). Tax knowledge had a positive effect on tax evasion having a coefficient of .174. This indicates that a 1% change in tax knowledge keeping the other things constant can result in a change in taxpayers to engage in tax evasion by 17.4% in the same direction. This finding contradicts the finding of Rantelangi and Majid ( 2018 ) and is similar to the finding of AlAdham et al. ( 2016 ) and Thu ( 2017 ). Tax fairness also had a positive effect on tax evasion having a coefficient of .468. This implies that a 1% change in tax fairness keeping the other things remain constant can result in a change in taxpayers engage in tax evasion by .468% in the same direction. This result is similar to the finding of Majid et al. ( 2017 ) and contradicts the finding of Alkhatib et al. ( 2019 ) and Rantelangi and Majid ( 2018 ). Thus, the final model of the study would be:

Tax evasion = .623 + .197MO + .174TK + .468TF

To generalize, the standardized beta coefficient indicates that tax fairness highly affects taxpayers to engage in tax evasion by 56.3%, tax knowledge affects secondly taxpayers to engage in tax evasion by 18.3%, and moral obligation affects taxpayers to engage in tax evasion by 17.7%. The remaining variables subjective norms and attitude towards the behavior were not statistically significant.

Conclusion and recommendations

Every citizen of the country was subjected to pay the tax of the country levied by the authority that administered the revenue. However, the taxpayer may be reluctant to pay a tax based on their revenue. There are push factors that instigate payers to engage in tax evasion. Sometimes the payers may be convinced themselves that being engaged in tax evasion is ethical, others may consider it unethical. They may argue “I Do Not Receive Benefits, Therefore I Do Not Have to Pay” (Robert, 2012 ). This study tried to examine the factors that influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion by identifying five factors namely moral obligation , tax fairness , tax knowledge , subjective norms , and taxpayers’ attitude towards the behavior . The study findings based on the result analysis described as follows.

The correlation analysis of the study shows that there was a positive and statistically significant relationship between independent variables with the dependent variable (tax evasion). The regression result, on the other hand, revealed that tax knowledge affects taxpayers to participate in tax evasion activities with a statistically significant level. This finding can be evidence that the knowledge of the taxpayers regarding the importance of tax is limited. Because according to the regression result, they engaged in the tax evasion activities in the study area. The other factor that affects taxpayers to engage in tax evasion is tax fairness. The regression result of tax fairness supported that taxpayers have been affected by the fairness of the tax system in the study area to participate in tax evasion. The finding confirms that the tax charged by the government is not fair for payers. Thus, we can conclude that due to the absence of tax fairness taxpayers are engaged in tax evasion in the city administration. The other variable moral obligation regression result confirms that moral obligation affects positively taxpayers to engage in tax evasion. This is signal that taxpayers did not know the moral value of retaining from tax evasion that is why the moral obligation results in positive and statistical significance. Generally, tax fairness highly affects taxpayers to evade taxes, tax knowledge affects secondly, and moral obligation affected tax payers thirdly to evade tax in the city administration.

Based on the findings, the following recommendations have been forwarded by the researcher. The first one is creating a fair tax payment system, or charging fair tax for the payers helps to reduce the participation of payers in tax evasion. The second recommendation is cascading different training related to tax will help taxpayers to pay a tax based on their annual income. The last recommendation is related to tax moral or moral obligation. The moral is an abounding rule for human beings to know the right and wrong activities. The authority is better to strive to recognize the payers about the moral obligations of the payers and better to inform to the payers to think about the shattering effect of tax evasion for the country development and city as well.

Further future lines of research will attempt to:

Investigate the employees’ side of tax authority and the perception of the community towards tax evasion.

Explore other influencing factors that affect tax payers to engage in tax evasion which are not incorporated under this study.

Conducting a comparative study on one city, region, and country with others.

Suggestion for future study

This study addresses only one city administration in Amhara region; other researchers are better to undertake the study on one more cities.

Availability of data and materials

All data are included in the manuscript and available on hand too.

Abbreviations

Attitude towards the behavior

Moral obligation

Micro and small enterprises

Subjective norms

Tax evasion
Tax fairness
Tax knowledge

Abera, A. A. (2019). Factors affecting presumptive tax collection in Ethiopia: Evidence from category “C” taxpayers in Bahir Dar City. Journal of Tax Administration , 5 (2), 74–96.

Google Scholar

Al Baaj, Q. M. A., Al Marshedi, A. A. S., & Al-Laban, D. A. A. (2018). The impact of electronic taxation on reducing tax evasion methods of Iraqi companies listed in the Iraqi stock exchange. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal , 22 (4) Retrieved from: www.abacademies.org/articles/ .

AlAdham, M. A. A., Abukhadijeh, M. A., & Qasem, M. F. (2016). Tax evasion and tax awareness evidence from Jordan. International Business Research , 9 (12) https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v9n12p65 .

Alkhatib, A. A., Abdul-Jabbar, H., Abuamria, F., & Rahhal, A. (2019). The effects of social influence factors on income tax evasion among the Palestinian SMEs. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology , 28 (17), 690–700.

Alleyne, P., & Harris, T. (2017). Antecedents of taxpayers’ intentions to engage in tax evasion: Evidence from Barbados. Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting (Emerald Publishing Limited) , 15 (1), 2–21 https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRA-12-2015-0107 .

Article Google Scholar

Allingham, M. G., & Sandmo, A. (1972). Income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis. Journal of Public Economics , 1 (3-4), 323–338.

Alm, J., & Torgler, B. (2006). Culture differences and tax morale in the United States and in Europe. Journal of Economic Psychology , 27 (2), 224–246.

Ameyaw, B., Addai, B., Ashalley, E., & Quaye, I. (2015). The effects of personal income tax evasion on socio-economic development in Ghana: A case study of the informal sector. British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade (Sciencedomain international) , 10 (4), 1–14 https://doi.org/10.9734/BJEMT/2015/19267 .

Annan, B., Bekoe, W., & Nketiah-Amponsah, E. (2014). Determinants of Tax Evasion in Ghana: 1970-2010. International Journal of Economic Sciences and Applied Research , 6 ( 3 ), 97 – 121 .

Aumeerun, B., Jugurnath, & Soondrum, H. (2016). Tax evasion: Empirical evidence from sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Accounting and Taxation (Academic Journals) , 8 (7), 70–80 https://doi.org/10.5897/JAT2016.022 .

Benk, S., Budak, T., & Cakmak, A. F. (2012). Tax professionals’ perceptions of tax fairness: Survey evidence in Turkey. International Journal of Business and Social Science , 3 (2) Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA.

Dalu, T., Maposa, V. G., Pabwaungana, S., & Dalu, T. (2012). The impact of tax evasion and avoidance on the economy: a case of Harare, Zimbabwe. African Journal Economic and Sustainable Development , 1 (3), 284–296.

degl’Innocenti, D. G., & Rablen, M. D. (2019). Tax evasion on a social network. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (Elsevier B.V) , 79–91 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2019.11.001 .

Fagbemi, T. O., Uadiale, O. M., & Noah, A. O. (2010). The ethics of tax evasion: Perceptual evidence from Nigeria. European Journal of Social Sciences , 17 ( 3 ).

Feld, L. P., & Frey, B. S. (2007). Tax Compliance as the Result of a Psychological Tax Contract: The Role of Incentives and Responsive Regulation. Law & Policy , 29 (1), 102–120.

Frey, B. S., & Oberholzer-Gee, F. (1997). The Cost of Price Incentives: An Empirical Analysis of Motivation Crowding- Out. The American Economic Review , 87 (4), 746–755.

Gallemore, J., & Labro, E. (2015). The importance of the internal information environment for tax avoidance. Journal of Accounting and Economics , 60 (1), 149–167.

Gandhi, V. P., Edrill, L. P., Mackenzie, G. A., Manas-Anton, L. A., Modi, J. R., Richupan, S., … Shome, P. (1995). Supply-side tax policy: Its relevance to developing countries . International Monteray Fund.

James, S. R., & Nobes, C. (1999). The Economics of Taxation: Principles, Policy, and Practice , (vol. 7). Financal Times Management.

Kim, S. (2008). Does political intention affect tax evasion? Journal of Policy Modeling , 30 (3), 401–415.

Majid, N., Rantelangi, C., & Iskandar (2017). Tax evasion: Is it ethical or unethical? (based on Samarinda taxpayers’ perception). In Mulawarman international conference on economics and business (MICEB 2017) , (pp. 13–18). Atlantis Press http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ .

McGee, R. W. (2006). Three views on the ethics of tax evasion. Journal of Business Ethics , 67 (1), 15–35.

Mughal, M. M. (2012). Reasons of Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion: Reflections from Pakistan. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies , 4 (4), 217–222.

Nabaweesi, J. (2009). Social norms and tax compliance among small business enterprises in Uganda (Master’s thesis) . Retrieved from http://makir.mak.ac.ug/handle/10570/2525

Nangih, E., & Dick, N. (2018). An empirical review of the determinants of tax evasion in Nigeria: Emphasis on the informal sector operators in Port Harcourt Metropolis. Journal of Accounting and Financial Management , 4 (3) http://www.iiardpub.org/ .

Ozili, P. K. (2020). Tax evasion and financial instability. Journal of Financial Crime. Emerald Publishing Limited , 27 (2), 531–539 https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-04-2019-0051 .

Palil, M. R., Malek, M. M., & Jaguli, A. R. (2016). Issues, challenges and problems with tax evasion: The institutional factors approach. Gadjah Mada International Journal of Busines , 18 (2), 187–206.

Poudel, R. L. (2017). Tax knowledge among university teachers in Pokhara. The Journal of Nepalese Bussiness Studies , 10 ( 1 ).

Puspitasari, E., & Meiranto, W. (2014). Motivational postures in tax compliance decisions: An experimental studies. International Journal of Business, Economics and Law , 5 (1), 100–110.

Putra, P. D., Syah, D. H., & Sriwedari, T. (2018). Tax avoidance: Evidence of as a proof of agency theory and tax planning. International Journal of Research and Review , 5 (9), 2454–2223.

Rantelangi, C., & Majid, N. (2018). Factors that influence the taxpayers’ perception on the tax evasion. In Advances in economics, business and management research (AEBMR) , (p. 35). Atlantis Press.

Robert, W. M. G. (2012). The ethics of tax evasion; perspectives in theory and practice . North Miami: Springer Science+Business Media https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1287-8 .

Sadjiarto, A., Susanto, A. N., Yuniar, E., & Hartanto, M. G. (2020). Factors affecting perception of tax evasion among Chindos. In Advances in economics, business and management research:23rd Asian Forum of Business Education(AFBE 2019),144 , (pp. 487–493). Atlantis Press SARL.

Saxunova, D., & Szarkova, R. (2018). Global Efforts of Tax Authorities and Tax Evasion Challenge. Journal of Eastern Europe Research in Business and Economics , 2018 , 1–14.

Storm, A. (2013). Establishing The Link Between Money Laundering And Tax Evasion. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER) , 12 (11), 1437.

Terzić, S. (2017). Model for determining subjective and objective factors of tax evasion. Notitia - Journal for Economic, Business and Social Issues, Notitia Ltd. , 1 (3), 49–62.

Thu, H. N. (2017). Determinants to tax evasion behavior in Vietnam. Journal of Management and Sustainability Canadian Center of Science and Education. https://doi.org/10.5539/jms.v7n4p123 .

Torgler, B., Demir, I. C., Macintyre, A., & Schaffner, M. (2008). Causes and Consequences of Tax Morale: An Empirical Investigation. Economic Analysis and Policy , 38 (2), 313–339.

Turner, Sean C. (2010). Essays on Crime and Tax Evasion . Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2010. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/econ_diss/64

Woldia City Administration Revenue Office (2019/2020). 2012E.C annual report. Woldia .

Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis , (2nd ed., ). New York: Harper and Row.

Zucman, G. (2014). Taxing accross borders: Tracking personal wealth and corporate profits. The Journal of Economic Perspectives , 28 (4), 121–148.

Download references

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all anonymous reviewers, my respondents, and Woldia City administration revenue office experts sharing the required information.

The author has not received a fund from any organization.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia

Erstu Tarko Kassa

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

The research was done independently. I have carried out the whole work of the study. The author read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erstu Tarko Kassa .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The author declares that there are no competing interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Kassa, E.T. Factors influencing taxpayers to engage in tax evasion: evidence from Woldia City administration micro, small, and large enterprise taxpayers. J Innov Entrep 10 , 8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-020-00142-4

Download citation

Received : 01 October 2020

Accepted : 09 December 2020

Published : 16 February 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-020-00142-4

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Does Tax Evasion in Foreign Countries Incentivize or Deter Foreign Investment by U.S. Firms?

Add to collection, downloadable content.

March 2, 2021
Affiliation: Kenan-Flagler Business School
I investigate the effect of tax evasion – illegal underpayment of taxes – by firms in foreign countries on the investment decisions of U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs). Using World Bank survey data to construct two country-level measures of tax evasion, I find that greater evasion by firms in foreign countries increases the probability that U.S. MNCs will locate subsidiaries in those jurisdictions. This effect is concentrated in countries with high statutory rates and is less pronounced in firms with high reputational costs. I find no evidence that the effect is stronger for countries where corruption and tax bribery are more pervasive. This study contributes to the broad literature on how corporate taxation affects location of investment by exploring the effect of tax evasion on the foreign investment decisions of U.S. MNCs.
foreign investment
tax evasion
https://doi.org/10.17615/qv0j-y259
Dissertation
Hoopes, Jeff
Landsman, Wayne
Doctor of Philosophy
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School

This work has no parents.

Select type of work

Master's papers.

Deposit your masters paper, project or other capstone work. Theses will be sent to the CDR automatically via ProQuest and do not need to be deposited.

Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters

Deposit a peer-reviewed article or book chapter. If you would like to deposit a poster, presentation, conference paper or white paper, use the “Scholarly Works” deposit form.

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Deposit your senior honors thesis.

Scholarly Journal, Newsletter or Book

Deposit a complete issue of a scholarly journal, newsletter or book. If you would like to deposit an article or book chapter, use the “Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters” deposit option.

Deposit your dataset. Datasets may be associated with an article or deposited separately.

Deposit your 3D objects, audio, images or video.

Poster, Presentation, Protocol or Paper

Deposit scholarly works such as posters, presentations, research protocols, conference papers or white papers. If you would like to deposit a peer-reviewed article or book chapter, use the “Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters” deposit option.

Search Menu
Browse content in Arts and Humanities
Browse content in Archaeology
Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
Archaeology by Region
Archaeology of Religion
Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
Biblical Archaeology
Contemporary and Public Archaeology
Environmental Archaeology
Historical Archaeology
History and Theory of Archaeology
Industrial Archaeology
Landscape Archaeology
Mortuary Archaeology
Prehistoric Archaeology
Underwater Archaeology
Urban Archaeology
Zooarchaeology
Browse content in Architecture
Architectural Structure and Design
History of Architecture
Residential and Domestic Buildings
Theory of Architecture
Browse content in Art
Art Subjects and Themes
History of Art
Industrial and Commercial Art
Theory of Art
Biographical Studies
Byzantine Studies
Browse content in Classical Studies
Classical History
Classical Philosophy
Classical Mythology
Classical Literature
Classical Reception
Classical Art and Architecture
Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
Greek and Roman Papyrology
Greek and Roman Epigraphy
Greek and Roman Law
Greek and Roman Archaeology
Late Antiquity
Religion in the Ancient World
Digital Humanities
Browse content in History
Colonialism and Imperialism
Diplomatic History
Environmental History
Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
Historical Geography
History by Period
History of Emotions
History of Agriculture
History of Education
History of Gender and Sexuality
Industrial History
Intellectual History
International History
Labour History
Legal and Constitutional History
Local and Family History
Maritime History
Military History
National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
Oral History
Political History
Public History
Regional and National History
Revolutions and Rebellions
Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
Social and Cultural History
Theory, Methods, and Historiography
Urban History
World History
Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
Language Learning (Specific Skills)
Language Teaching Theory and Methods
Browse content in Linguistics
Applied Linguistics
Cognitive Linguistics
Computational Linguistics
Forensic Linguistics
Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
History of English
Language Evolution
Language Reference
Language Acquisition
Language Variation
Language Families
Lexicography
Linguistic Anthropology
Linguistic Theories
Linguistic Typology
Phonetics and Phonology
Psycholinguistics
Sociolinguistics
Translation and Interpretation
Writing Systems
Browse content in Literature
Bibliography
Children's Literature Studies
Literary Studies (Romanticism)
Literary Studies (American)
Literary Studies (Asian)
Literary Studies (European)
Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
Literary Studies (Modernism)
Literary Studies - World
Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
Literary Studies (19th Century)
Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
Literary Studies (African American Literature)
Literary Studies (British and Irish)
Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
Literary Studies (History of the Book)
Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
Literary Studies (War Literature)
Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
Mythology and Folklore
Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
Browse content in Media Studies
Browse content in Music
Applied Music
Dance and Music
Ethics in Music
Ethnomusicology
Gender and Sexuality in Music
Medicine and Music
Music Cultures
Music and Media
Music and Religion
Music and Culture
Music Education and Pedagogy
Music Theory and Analysis
Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
Musicology and Music History
Performance Practice and Studies
Race and Ethnicity in Music
Sound Studies
Browse content in Performing Arts
Browse content in Philosophy
Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
Epistemology
Feminist Philosophy
History of Western Philosophy
Metaphysics
Moral Philosophy
Non-Western Philosophy
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Perception
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Action
Philosophy of Law
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
Practical Ethics
Social and Political Philosophy
Browse content in Religion
Biblical Studies
Christianity
East Asian Religions
History of Religion
Judaism and Jewish Studies
Qumran Studies
Religion and Education
Religion and Health
Religion and Politics
Religion and Science
Religion and Law
Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
Religious Studies
Browse content in Society and Culture
Cookery, Food, and Drink
Cultural Studies
Customs and Traditions
Ethical Issues and Debates
Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
Sports and Outdoor Recreation
Technology and Society
Travel and Holiday
Visual Culture
Browse content in Law
Arbitration
Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
Commercial Law
Company Law
Browse content in Comparative Law
Systems of Law
Competition Law
Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
Government Powers
Judicial Review
Local Government Law
Military and Defence Law
Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
Construction Law
Contract Law
Browse content in Criminal Law
Criminal Procedure
Criminal Evidence Law
Sentencing and Punishment
Employment and Labour Law
Environment and Energy Law
Browse content in Financial Law
Banking Law
Insolvency Law
History of Law
Human Rights and Immigration
Intellectual Property Law
Browse content in International Law
Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
Public International Law
IT and Communications Law
Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
Law and Politics
Law and Society
Browse content in Legal System and Practice
Courts and Procedure
Legal Skills and Practice
Primary Sources of Law
Regulation of Legal Profession
Medical and Healthcare Law
Browse content in Policing
Criminal Investigation and Detection
Police and Security Services
Police Procedure and Law
Police Regional Planning
Browse content in Property Law
Personal Property Law
Study and Revision
Terrorism and National Security Law
Browse content in Trusts Law
Wills and Probate or Succession
Browse content in Medicine and Health
Browse content in Allied Health Professions
Arts Therapies
Clinical Science
Dietetics and Nutrition
Occupational Therapy
Operating Department Practice
Physiotherapy
Radiography
Speech and Language Therapy
Browse content in Anaesthetics
General Anaesthesia
Neuroanaesthesia
Clinical Neuroscience
Browse content in Clinical Medicine
Acute Medicine
Cardiovascular Medicine
Clinical Genetics
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Dermatology
Endocrinology and Diabetes
Gastroenterology
Genito-urinary Medicine
Geriatric Medicine
Infectious Diseases
Medical Toxicology
Medical Oncology
Pain Medicine
Palliative Medicine
Rehabilitation Medicine
Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
Rheumatology
Sleep Medicine
Sports and Exercise Medicine
Community Medical Services
Critical Care
Emergency Medicine
Forensic Medicine
Haematology
History of Medicine
Browse content in Medical Skills
Clinical Skills
Communication Skills
Nursing Skills
Surgical Skills
Browse content in Medical Dentistry
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Paediatric Dentistry
Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
Surgical Dentistry
Medical Ethics
Medical Statistics and Methodology
Browse content in Neurology
Clinical Neurophysiology
Neuropathology
Nursing Studies
Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Gynaecology
Occupational Medicine
Ophthalmology
Otolaryngology (ENT)
Browse content in Paediatrics
Neonatology
Browse content in Pathology
Chemical Pathology
Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
Histopathology
Medical Microbiology and Virology
Patient Education and Information
Browse content in Pharmacology
Psychopharmacology
Browse content in Popular Health
Caring for Others
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Self-help and Personal Development
Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Reproduction, Growth and Development
Primary Care
Professional Development in Medicine
Browse content in Psychiatry
Addiction Medicine
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Forensic Psychiatry
Learning Disabilities
Old Age Psychiatry
Psychotherapy
Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Public Health
Browse content in Radiology
Clinical Radiology
Interventional Radiology
Nuclear Medicine
Radiation Oncology
Reproductive Medicine
Browse content in Surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
General Surgery
Neurosurgery
Paediatric Surgery
Peri-operative Care
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Surgical Oncology
Transplant Surgery
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
Vascular Surgery
Browse content in Science and Mathematics
Browse content in Biological Sciences
Aquatic Biology
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Developmental Biology
Ecology and Conservation
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics and Genomics
Microbiology
Molecular and Cell Biology
Natural History
Plant Sciences and Forestry
Research Methods in Life Sciences
Structural Biology
Systems Biology
Zoology and Animal Sciences
Browse content in Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Computational Chemistry
Crystallography
Environmental Chemistry
Industrial Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Materials Chemistry
Medicinal Chemistry
Mineralogy and Gems
Organic Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Polymer Chemistry
Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
Theoretical Chemistry
Browse content in Computer Science
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Architecture and Logic Design
Game Studies
Human-Computer Interaction
Mathematical Theory of Computation
Programming Languages
Software Engineering
Systems Analysis and Design
Virtual Reality
Browse content in Computing
Business Applications
Computer Security
Computer Games
Computer Networking and Communications
Digital Lifestyle
Graphical and Digital Media Applications
Operating Systems
Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
Atmospheric Sciences
Environmental Geography
Geology and the Lithosphere
Maps and Map-making
Meteorology and Climatology
Oceanography and Hydrology
Palaeontology
Physical Geography and Topography
Regional Geography
Soil Science
Urban Geography
Browse content in Engineering and Technology
Agriculture and Farming
Biological Engineering
Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
Electronics and Communications Engineering
Energy Technology
Engineering (General)
Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
History of Engineering and Technology
Mechanical Engineering and Materials
Technology of Industrial Chemistry
Transport Technology and Trades
Browse content in Environmental Science
Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
Environmental Sustainability
Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
History of Science and Technology
Browse content in Materials Science
Ceramics and Glasses
Composite Materials
Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
Nanotechnology
Browse content in Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
Biomathematics and Statistics
History of Mathematics
Mathematical Education
Mathematical Finance
Mathematical Analysis
Numerical and Computational Mathematics
Probability and Statistics
Pure Mathematics
Browse content in Neuroscience
Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
Development of the Nervous System
Disorders of the Nervous System
History of Neuroscience
Invertebrate Neurobiology
Molecular and Cellular Systems
Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
Neuroscientific Techniques
Sensory and Motor Systems
Browse content in Physics
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Biological and Medical Physics
Classical Mechanics
Computational Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
History of Physics
Mathematical and Statistical Physics
Measurement Science
Nuclear Physics
Particles and Fields
Plasma Physics
Quantum Physics
Relativity and Gravitation
Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
Browse content in Psychology
Affective Sciences
Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Neuroscience
Criminal and Forensic Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Educational Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology
Health Psychology
History and Systems in Psychology
Music Psychology
Neuropsychology
Organizational Psychology
Psychological Assessment and Testing
Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
Psychology Professional Development and Training
Research Methods in Psychology
Social Psychology
Browse content in Social Sciences
Browse content in Anthropology
Anthropology of Religion
Human Evolution
Medical Anthropology
Physical Anthropology
Regional Anthropology
Social and Cultural Anthropology
Theory and Practice of Anthropology
Browse content in Business and Management
Business Ethics
Business Strategy
Business History
Business and Technology
Business and Government
Business and the Environment
Comparative Management
Corporate Governance
Corporate Social Responsibility
Entrepreneurship
Health Management
Human Resource Management
Industrial and Employment Relations
Industry Studies
Information and Communication Technologies
International Business
Knowledge Management
Management and Management Techniques
Operations Management
Organizational Theory and Behaviour
Pensions and Pension Management
Public and Nonprofit Management
Strategic Management
Supply Chain Management
Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice
Criminology
Forms of Crime
International and Comparative Criminology
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
Development Studies
Browse content in Economics
Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
Asian Economics
Behavioural Finance
Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
Economic History
Economic Systems
Economic Methodology
Economic Development and Growth
Financial Markets
Financial Institutions and Services
General Economics and Teaching
Health, Education, and Welfare
History of Economic Thought
International Economics
Labour and Demographic Economics
Law and Economics
Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
Microeconomics
Public Economics
Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
Welfare Economics
Browse content in Education
Adult Education and Continuous Learning
Care and Counselling of Students
Early Childhood and Elementary Education
Educational Equipment and Technology
Educational Strategies and Policy
Higher and Further Education
Organization and Management of Education
Philosophy and Theory of Education
Schools Studies
Secondary Education
Teaching of a Specific Subject
Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
Teaching Skills and Techniques
Browse content in Environment
Applied Ecology (Social Science)
Climate Change
Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
Natural Disasters (Environment)
Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
Browse content in Human Geography
Cultural Geography
Economic Geography
Political Geography
Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
Communication Studies
Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
Browse content in Politics
African Politics
Asian Politics
Chinese Politics
Comparative Politics
Conflict Politics
Elections and Electoral Studies
Environmental Politics
European Union
Foreign Policy
Gender and Politics
Human Rights and Politics
Indian Politics
International Relations
International Organization (Politics)
International Political Economy
Irish Politics
Latin American Politics
Middle Eastern Politics
Political Behaviour
Political Economy
Political Institutions
Political Methodology
Political Communication
Political Philosophy
Political Sociology
Political Theory
Politics and Law
Public Policy
Public Administration
Quantitative Political Methodology
Regional Political Studies
Russian Politics
Security Studies
State and Local Government
UK Politics
US Politics
Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
African Studies
Asian Studies
East Asian Studies
Japanese Studies
Latin American Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Native American Studies
Scottish Studies
Browse content in Research and Information
Research Methods
Browse content in Social Work
Addictions and Substance Misuse
Adoption and Fostering
Care of the Elderly
Child and Adolescent Social Work
Couple and Family Social Work
Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
Emergency Services
Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
International and Global Issues in Social Work
Mental and Behavioural Health
Social Justice and Human Rights
Social Policy and Advocacy
Social Work and Crime and Justice
Social Work Macro Practice
Social Work Practice Settings
Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
Welfare and Benefit Systems
Browse content in Sociology
Childhood Studies
Community Development
Comparative and Historical Sociology
Economic Sociology
Gender and Sexuality
Gerontology and Ageing
Health, Illness, and Medicine
Marriage and the Family
Migration Studies
Occupations, Professions, and Work
Organizations
Population and Demography
Race and Ethnicity
Social Theory
Social Movements and Social Change
Social Research and Statistics
Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
Sociology of Religion
Sociology of Education
Sport and Leisure
Urban and Rural Studies
Browse content in Warfare and Defence
Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
Land Forces and Warfare
Military Administration
Military Life and Institutions
Naval Forces and Warfare
Other Warfare and Defence Issues
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
Weapons and Equipment

The Oxford Handbook of Crime and Public Policy

< Previous chapter
Next chapter >

15 Tax Evasion

Valerie Braithwaite is Professor of Social Sciences at the Regulatory Institutions Network of Australian National University.

Published: 18 September 2012
Cite Icon Cite
Permissions Icon Permissions

This article briefly maps the domain of tax evasion and draws on the best data available from the United States to illustrate the magnitude of the problem. It reviews the scientific literature on the primary drivers of tax evasion. The nature and extent of tax evasion vary across contexts and time, depending on opportunity to evade tax and the enforcement processes in place. It illustrates tax evasion as a white-collar crime, the substance of which is sometimes poorly specified and changes with economic and social conditions. There is a brief review on the reasons for individuals evading tax and includes discussion about benefits, coercion, obligation, and justice. It considers some of the strategies that governments are using to try to rebuild the effectiveness and integrity of their tax systems to ensure future sustainability.

T ax evasion is a crime that adversely affects a nation's economy and the tax morale of citizens by reducing the nation's capacity to provide government services or manage its debt and by placing a disproportionate burden on those who pay their share (Burman 2003 ; Bajada and Schneider 2005 , pp. 3–5; Kirchler 2007 , p. 24). Tax evasion has political as well as economic significance (Internal Revenue Service 2005 b ). Institutions of taxation are part of how nations define themselves (Schmölders 1970 ; Stiglitz 2002 , p. 177), and taxes regulate activity (J. P. Smith 1993 ; Mumford 2002 , pp. 6–7; Moran 2003 ). For instance, taxes on tobacco increase price disincentives for dangerous consumption (Geis, Cartwright, and Houston 2003 ). Taxation also makes a statement about how a society practices social justice, expressing a nation's values regarding resource redistribution from the rich to the poor (progressive taxation) or from the poor to the rich (regressive taxation; Stiglitz 2002 , p. 177). Taxes can deepen the oppression of taxpaying communities, at times with catastrophic consequences (for example, wars of independence in the United States and India or revolution in France).

In stable democracies with well-established taxation institutions, state-citizen reciprocity underlies most people's understanding of taxpaying (Scholz and Lubell, 1998 , a , 1998 b ; Frey and Feld 2001 ; Rawlings, 2003 ; Feld and Frey, 2007 ). In some circumstances, however, paying tax may be regarded as little more than legally ordained extortion. Presumably for this reason, Moran ( 2003 , p. 378) offers the following definition: “A tax occurs when a government requires contributions for its operations from individuals, firms, or groups within its jurisdiction without returning a clear quid pro quo.” Feeling reciprocity is a subjective social phenomenon, and as Moran implicitly recognizes, cannot be imposed on an individual who pays tax.

Nevertheless, reciprocity and obligation occur in taxpaying insofar as a “psychological contract” is made between the taxpayer and the state (Frey and Feld 2001 ; Feld and Frey 2007 ). This extra layer to Moran's ( 2003 ) definition means that citizens and taxpayers generally buy into taxpaying as an obligation. In return, governments provide the community with infrastructure and services. When government fails to deliver expected and promised benefits to the satisfaction of taxpayers, discontent is expressed as a breach of trust (Scholz and Lubell 1998 , a , 1998 b ; Feld and Frey 2002 ; Rawlings 2003 ).

At sufficiently high levels tax evasion signals a threat to a society's economic security, political stability, and social capital. It is no surprise, then, that the regulation of taxpaying is well institutionalized in mature democracies. The institution depends on social mores and elaborate systems of tax law and procedure. In many democratic societies the law is complex, the administration cumbersome and bureaucratic. The remarkable feature of these tax systems is that they work as well as they do (Alm, McClelland, and Schulze 1992 ), but there is widespread belief that they are in trouble, with a growing gap between expected and collected taxes (Hasseldine and Li 1999 ; Avi-Jonah 2000 ; Tanzi 2000 ; Rossotti 2002 ; Burman 2003 ). In a globalized world where wealth is mobile and sovereign states are unable to successfully identify and isolate the wealth that is “theirs” to tax, tax evasion is not easy to track down (Tanzi 1996 ). Pinpointing evasion is made difficult by different tax laws in different countries (Moran 2003 ), complexities in tax law that generate uncertainty (Picciotto 2007 ), and an attitude to the law that makes it fair game for exploitation by those who abide by black letter interpretation while dismissing the spirit that the law embodies (McBarnet 1992 ).

In this chapter I briefly map the domain of tax evasion, draw on the best data available from the United States to illustrate the magnitude of the problem, review the scientific literature on the primary drivers of tax evasion, and consider some of the strategies that governments are using to try to rebuild the effectiveness and integrity of their tax systems to ensure future sustainability. The main conclusions are the following:

Tax evasion needs to be understood holistically: perceptually, people are capable of linking different forms of taxation to each other and to the quality of governance.

The nature and extent of tax evasion vary across contexts and time depending on opportunity to evade tax and the enforcement processes in place.

Efficiency considerations in tax collection influence which groups will be taxed and the success of evasion strategies. The result is that when methods of taxation change the message of moral obligation needs to be renegotiated with the public, particularly in circumstances where commitment to overarching law-abidingness is absent.

In the United States underreporting of taxable income explains a large part of tax evasion, but tax avoidance through deposits in offshore financial centers lies outside these estimates. Worldwide these deposits are thought to be in excess of $5 trillion.

The wheel of social alignments is proposed as a way of integrating three spheres of tax research: the optimal design of the tax system, the deliberations that enable individuals to voluntarily accept taxpaying (benefits, moral obligation, and justice), and the role played by others beyond the tax authority and the taxpayer (accountants, tax advisors, financial planners, work colleagues, and family). Sometimes these influences are sympathetic to the tax system, other times not.

Interlocking the three spheres of design, taxpayer perceptions, and influential networks to build a cooperative taxpaying culture requires increased engagement of tax authorities with the taxpaying public through high standards of procedural justice, meaningful dialogue, and responsiveness.

Taxes take different forms “depending on each nation's history, administrative capacity, and culture” (Moran 2003 , p. 378). For example, income tax, corporate tax, land tax, capital gains tax, death tax, inheritance tax, sales tax, customs and excise tax, and value-added tax are all available to governments and generally are used in combination, albeit to different degrees in different places. Moran regards levels of economic development as critical to differentiating the tax mix of former British colonies: “Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States raise most of their revenues from income, wage, and corporate taxes while the Anglophone African nations and India raise more of their tax revenues from customs duties” (Moran 2003 , p. 381). Indeed, the United States, Canada, and Australia raise half of their tax revenue from income tax, while Britain raises a third in this way (Moran 2003 ).

This is undoubtedly the reason so much of the literature on tax evasion has focused on income tax (an exception is Slemrod 1999). The tax mix, however, matters. Understanding interdependencies and how people see the relative merits of different forms of taxpaying is at the heart of understanding tax evasion. Two examples illustrate, one in the area of development, the other in the area of corporate taxation.

Global pressures on developing countries to lower trade barriers is particularly detrimental to poorer nations that have a tax mix that is heavily weighted toward customs and excise duties (Moran 2003 ). As underresourced and inexperienced tax administrators are trying to collect customs and excise tax from global business enterprises, they are no doubt grappling with a mixed message about how worthwhile their activities are. It is of little wonder that such tax authorities struggle to establish effective tax systems that will withstand problems of corruption. The degree to which a society can harness a moral imperative to pay tax within its population is an important predictor of levels of tax evasion (Torgler 2003 ). The role of the global economy in legitimizing particular forms of tax evasion and undermining efforts to communicate a moral imperative to pay tax calls for further study.

The question of corporate tax contributions is ideologically fraught, with some scholars arguing that entities should not be taxed on their profits if their shareholders and owners are paying personal income tax (Sørensen 1999 ; Moran 2003 ). Such a view, however, does not have the support of the general public (Steinmo 1993 , p. 158; V. Braithwaite 2003 c ; V. Braithwaite and J. Braithwaite 2006 ). The economic and social harms caused by the collapse of a corporation such as Enron, which paid no taxes for four of its last five years (J. Braithwaite 2005 ), have sharpened concerns about corporate social responsibility, including taxpaying (V. Braithwaite et al. 2001 ; Happé 2007 ).

Although corporations and the public may be at odds about their “rightful” contributions to the tax system, the reality is that many companies pay no tax at all (J. Braithwaite 2005 , p. 20), and most member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have seen a drop in the proportion of revenue they collect through company tax due to global tax planning by large corporations (Steinmo 1993 , p. 20). Profits are moved from countries with high tax rates to those offering more favorable tax conditions, in particular, tax havens. The result has been a race to the bottom as far as corporate and individual income tax rates are concerned (Avi-Jonah 2000 ; Genser 2001 ; Maranville 2004 ).

A policy imperative for governments is to guard against public perceptions of corporate free riding. Such perceptions cast doubt over a government's capacity to enforce the law and create justification for widespread community defiance (Mason and Calvin 1984 ; Rossotti 2002 ; V. Braithwaite et al. 2003 ). From a policy perspective, evasion in relation to corporate income tax is not disconnected from other types of tax evasion (Schneider and Enste 2002 ).

II. Magnitude

Estimating tax evasion and avoidance is difficult. Part of the problem is definitional, part is the reliability of data on the magnitude of the problem. Tax evasion can be defined as an illegal act of commission or omission that reduces or prevents tax liability that would otherwise be incurred (Webley et al. 1991 , p. 2). Specifying what these acts are is impossible. As Tanzi and Shome ( 1994 , p. 328) explain, tax evasion covers a “truly remarkable” array of activities, continually being invented by those looking for ways of not paying tax.

When attention turns from evasion to avoidance, problems of specification deepen. The distinction between avoidance and evasion has been expressed simply: “It is the difference between working within the law (though against its spirit) and working outside it (Woellner et al. 2005 , p. 1615)” (cited in Evans 2005 ). When tax law is as complex as it is, opportunities arise for finding loopholes and ambiguities, so that “the arrangement of one's affairs, within the law, to reduce one's tax liability” becomes possible (James and Nobes 2000 , p. 300) in circumstances where these actions are “contrary to the spirit of law” (p. 100). Recent legislative changes in some countries that have introduced general anti-avoidance rules (principles) have sought to bring avoidance under the control of the legal system (see Jones 1996 ; Freedman 2004 ; J. Braithwaite 2005 ). These general tax principles make it illegal to act in ways that are counter to the spirit of the law for no other purpose than to minimize tax (or when the dominant purpose is avoidance).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS; 2005 a , 2005 b ) has invested heavily in measuring the “tax gap” to provide an estimate of U.S. taxpayers' compliance with their federal tax obligations. The tax gap refers to the difference between the tax that taxpayers should pay and what they actually pay on a timely basis. The data for 2001 was collected from audits of 46,000 tax returns of individuals. Data for the corporate contribution to the tax gap was not updated from 1988.

Individual income tax constitutes about half of the tax gap (IRS 2005 b ). Other taxes that are included in the tax gap estimate are corporation tax, employment tax, and estate and excise tax. The IRS has broken down the tax gap into three forms of evasion: underreporting income, nonfiling of tax returns, and nonpayment of a tax debt. The largest component (80 percent) involves the underreporting of income (IRS 2005 a ). IRS (2005 a ) audits have shown that the majority of individuals underreporting were understating income, mainly from business activities, rather than overclaiming deductions to reduce their taxable income. The remaining forms of evasion each account for about 10 percent of the tax gap: failure to pay the reported taxes owed and failure to file a tax return (IRS 2005 a ).

Of note is what the tax gap does not cover. It does not include taxes from the illegal sector of the economy (IRS 2005 b ), which includes crimes of drug trafficking and smuggling of various kinds. Also excluded from the tax gap, because of its invisibility in many cases, is the “legitimate” work performed by illegal immigrants and those who are paid in cash outside the official economy. 1 The tax gap also does not include revenue lost through avoidance measures that the IRS feels ill-equipped to challenge or that are beyond reach; as an example, Tanzi (2000) cites the impenetrable veil around transactions in offshore financial centers, citing a 1998 UN report that estimates that deposits in these centers exceed $5 trillion.

The tax gap for the tax year 2001 in the United States is estimated as falling in the range of $312 billion to $353 billion (IRS 2005 a , 2005 b ). IRS enforcement activity and late payments have reduced this gap by $55 billion, that is, by 16 to 18 percent. Obviously, figures on U.S. tax evasion cannot be generalized to other parts of the world, nor should it be assumed that the United States is leading the way in tackling tax evasion. The United States is unusual, however, in the rigorous and systematic way it has gone about collecting data. Therefore, the U.S. tax gap data are a useful benchmark for gauging the seriousness of tax evasion for countries around the world.

Although the dollar value of tax evasion is substantial, most studies confirm that the majority of people pay their tax. Hasseldine and Li ( 1999 ) summarize international survey work reporting that about a quarter of people who file a tax return will admit to deliberately underreporting income. Using data from the IRS Taxpayer Compliance Measurement Program audits, Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein ( 1998 ) reported that 25 percent of all taxpayers underpaid their taxes by $1,500 or more. Tax evasion appears to be a relatively common crime, perhaps even the most common. Even so, a very sizable proportion obey the law without the need for intervention (IRS 2005 b ). Given the low risks of detection and punishment (Rossotti 2002 ), most people comply with tax law in an economically irrational way most of the time (Alm, McClelland, and Schulze 1992 ; Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein 1998 ).

III. Changes in Tax Evasion

The 2001 analysis of the tax gap led the Internal Revenue Service (2005 a ) to conclude that there had been “modest deterioration in tax compliance among individual taxpayers since the last study was conducted in 1988.” In 2002 Charles Rossotti, then commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, reported to the IRS Oversight Board, “We are winning the battle, but losing the war. Over the last ten years, the size and complexity of the tax system increased enormously. Beyond the simple increase in number of taxpayers and revenue dollars, the majority of tax revenues now come from sources that are more subject to manipulation by those who wish to pay less than the law requires and much more difficult and time consuming for our agents to uncover” (pp. 1–2). Rossotti continued with an admission that the IRS had no overall strategy for dealing with corporate tax shelters, had not concentrated efforts on high-income individuals, and had not revised their auditing priorities to focus attention on offshore accounts, partnerships, and trusts through which vast sums of income flowed, resulting in a burgeoning market in “tax schemes and devices designed to improperly reduce taxes to taxpayers based on the simple premise they can get away with it” (p. 2).

IV. What Change Means in the Tax Context

The literature supports Rossotti's ( 2002 ) analysis that swings in levels of evasion at the national level reflect opportunity to evade, created by change in enforcement activity and by change in socioeconomic conditions that alter ease of collection. Aggressive tax planning, for instance, appears to be responsive to enforcement activity. John Braithwaite ( 2005 ) has proposed a cyclical theory of aggressive tax planning that recognizes the role that tax authorities play in signaling what is not acceptable. Braithwaite tracks the way the wealthy engage in tax planning with innovative game plans that are ahead of what tax authorities are looking for in their auditing activities. Schemes that have met with some success at elite levels are then repackaged for marketing to an unsuspecting public eager to jump on the next financial planning bandwagon and save tax. In the repackaging process, many of the niceties that protect against challenges from tax authorities are lost. It is therefore at the mass-marketing stage that tax authorities feel confident that they have the ammunition to challenge the schemes and close them down. By this time promoters have made their financial killing, and small investors are left to their own devices to fight their case against the tax authority. This sequence of elite marketing, mass marketing, and tax authority challenge means that aggressive tax planning occurs in cycles, with the greatest risk occurring at the end of the cycle, when smaller players regard such schemes as safe, smart investments and join the stampede. Until tax authorities become more adept at intervening in a timely fashion tax avoidance activities will fluctuate substantially across time.

Enforcement intervention is not the only factor shaping what the figures tell us about tax evasion over time. As economic conditions change, the costs of collecting a particular form of tax may exceed the revenue collected from that tax. To preserve the tax base without additional collection expense, governments change the tax mix. As the tax mix changes, opportunities for tax evasion will also change.

By tracking Australia's transition during the twentieth century from having a predominantly customs, excise, and land tax base to an income tax base that relies heavily on wage and salary earners, J. P. Smith ( 1993 ) has shown how adaptive tax systems are to changing economic and social conditions. These changes have been used by John Braithwaite ( 2005 ) to explain why Australia's progressive tax regime (like the regime in the United States) has become more regressive in the course of the century. At the turn of the twentieth century, the working classes were poorly paid, itinerant, often working in rural Australia. Collecting tax from such a group was far less cost effective than collecting tax from those with money, land, and inheritance or from highly paid workers in urban areas. As smaller family businesses corporatized and became part of larger companies and as workers found steady jobs with better salaries in urban areas, the opportunity to tax the working classes in a new and highly cost-effective way emerged. Increasing wages gradually drew workers into the income tax net originally designed for the rich, and tax was extracted by employers on behalf of the government at source through a withholding system.

Thus by the end of the twentieth century the tables had turned, not only in Australia, but also in the United States (see Browlee 2000 for the U.S. history). Wage and salary earners were a “captured” population: their income could be easily tracked through third parties (employers and financial institutions), and tax could be withheld by government. Those with wealth, on the other hand, were able to move their money to places where third-party reporting and withholding tax could be avoided. This is not to suggest that there are no options for the working class to avoid tax. Shadow economy activity leaves no audit trail and occurs commonly when goods and services can be sold or traded completely outside the official economy (Schneider and Enste 2002 ).

V. Special Features

The above analysis illustrates tax evasion as a white-collar crime, the substance of which is sometimes poorly specified and changes with economic and social conditions. One might be forgiven for thinking of tax evasion as a failure to comply with “arbitrary” legal rulings (Schmölders 1970 ). If there is a moral underpinning to tax evasion, it is not transparent in the specific rules (Picciotto 2007 ). The moral underpinning is more abstract; it is a belief in the rule of law and accepting responsibility for being a law-abiding citizen, or a commitment to the psychological contract between the taxpayer and the state (Frey and Feld 2001 ; Orviska and Hudson 2002 ). The relatively abstract nature of the moral underpinnings to taxation probably explains why tax authorities and tax systems so readily look to coercion as their ultimate enforcement weapon, not necessarily through punishment but through a tax design that gives the taxpayer little choice.

VI. The Wheel of Social Alignments

The dominant theoretical lens for understanding tax evasion has grown out of deterrence theory (Allingham and Sandmo 1972 ), with its presumption that people will evade tax when the benefits of evasion outweigh the costs. However, research findings have led to modification of this basic theoretical model. The odds of detection and penalties are so low that it is mostly rational to cheat, yet people tend to do the right thing and pay their taxes (Alm, McClelland, and Schulze 1992 ; Slemrod 1992 ; Alm, Sanchez, and de Juan 1995 ). Personal interpretations of risk and gain, knowledge of taxation, cognitive heuristics, social norms, shame, guilt, and identity are among the factors that have been shown to influence an individual's propensity to evade tax (see Webley et al. 1991 ; Kirchler 2007 ). Moreover, the process through which these influences operate can involve the individual in a conscious, deliberative assessment of gain and loss, or very little deliberation (V. Braithwaite and Wenzel 2008 ). Tax evasion can occur through modeling the behavior of significant others (V. Braithwaite and J. Braithwaite 2006 ) or through the use of general heuristics (Scholz and Pinney 1995 ; Scholz and Lubell 1998 a , 1998 b ).

The wheel of social alignments.

Source: V. Braithwaite and Wenzel 2008.

The varied and multiple pressures that increase or decrease tax evasion can be integrated for the purposes of policy analysis through the wheel of social alignments depicted in figure 15.1 (V. Braithwaite and Wenzel 2008 ). The wheel of social alignments displays the segments that tax authorities need to be constantly monitoring and improving in order to collect tax efficiently in keeping with the democratic will. The outer band of the wheel represents the tax system, its laws, codes, and administration. This is the institution of taxation that commonly constrains individuals, makes demands, and ensures that demands are met. Ideally it is also where lie responsiveness to taxpayers (K. W. Smith 1992 ; V. Braithwaite 2003 a ), respect for taxpayer rights (Bentley 2007 ), and tax system integrity (V. Braithwaite 2003 d ).

The middle band represents how individuals deliberate and make choices about taxation. Opportunities for conflict with the tax authority arise around benefits accrued from contributions, obligation or coercion to make contributions, and justice in collecting contributions. If a tax system is to be sustainable and honor democratic principles, these conflicts must be resolved by most people most of the time in ways that are sympathetic rather than antagonistic to taxpaying.

The inner core of the wheel in figure 15.1 represents “the other” who is sought out by the taxpayer as a role model who affirms the taxpayer's identity, particularly ethical identity (Harris 2007 ). The other may be a friend of the tax system or an enemy, or an alternative authority (for example, the financial planning industry). The other provides taxpayers with direction when personal deliberation leaves them unsure and confused about the demands of the system (the outer band).

The width of the three bands in figure 15.1 varies with culture and context. When tax authorities wish to impose a system without scope for noncompliance (for example, a simple withholding system), the outer band will be wide, leaving the middle band of dialogue with little practical utility and rendering the inner core irrelevant. The situation may change, however, if the tax is unduly oppressive and comes to the attention of the population as harmful or unfair. The middle band and the inner core may then combine forces to weaken the outer rim of institutional constraint. The inner core and middle band are also likely to be wide, comparatively speaking, in a self-assessment system where individuals are required to make an investment in thinking about the tax they are paying.

When taxation is a subject that is deliberated and the state seeks to bring the tax system into line with the democratic will, the outer band, the middle band, and the inner core should all have a noticeable presence. Through dialogue, the bands have opportunity to interlock to form a unified whole that can move forward. The forward movement is propelled by the deliberation that takes place within the community about the tax system: Will it bring benefits now or in the future? Does it elicit a feeling of obligation? Does it resonate with a sense of social justice? If these questions are answered in the affirmative, the wheel moves forward and accumulates the momentum that sets up mutual trust and cooperation between taxpayers and their tax authority. If they are not answered in the affirmative, the wheel may roll backward and disintegrate, or it may oscillate in confusion from feelings of discontent while holding on to some faith in the system. If discontent is squashed and deliberation outlawed, the outer rim operates as a clamp, holding things in place, allowing no scope for movement or development. When processes are in place to respond to concerns and gain forward momentum, the tax regime is optimally effective, operating largely on cooperation and earning such cooperation by acting with integrity.

VII. Primary Drivers

In this section I briefly review the literature on why individuals evade tax and discuss all five segments and bands in figure 15.1 . Benefits, coercion, obligation, and justice have been identified in the literature as components in the story of why people evade tax (Cullis and Lewis 1997 ; Tanzi 2001 ; also see more general reviews by K. W. Smith and Kinsey 1987 ; Slemrod 1992 ; Alm, Sanchez, and de Juan 1995 ; Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein 1998 ; Hasseldine and Li 1999 ). Tax system design also has been linked with evasion, although in the tax design literature the emphasis has been on raising revenue in accord with normatively desirable principles (Tanzi and Shome 1994 ; Brand 1996 ; Tanzi 2000 , 2001 ). The role of the other in tax evasion has assumed greater importance more recently, adding a dynamic element to how communities come to defy the structural design of the system (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2001 a ).

A. Tax System Design and Administration

Drawing on Adam Smith's four canons of taxation—equity, certainty, convenience, and economy—tax experts such as Tanzi ( 2000 , 2001 ), Tanzi and Shome ( 1994 ), and Brand ( 1996 ) converge in their views on what the gold standards of tax design are, and maintain that evasion and avoidance will be lower when good design principles are followed. Of widespread concern is complexity, the central argument being that unintentional evasion increases when there is confusion about what is required (Long and Swingen 1988 ; Tanzi and Shome 1994 ; Brand 1996 ). As well as being simple, tax systems should be cost-effective. Where taxpayer compliance costs are high, compliance is less rational or even impossible (Sandford 1995 ). K. W. Smith and Stalans ( 1991 ) have brought together complexity and psychological compliance costs, suggesting that a simplified tax system would create more comfort for taxpayers (that is, reduce emotional costs), and in this way serve as a positive incentive for compliance. The principles of efficiency and equity involve keeping taxes as low as possible and spreading the burden as widely as possible. In line with these standards is the previously observed need to be sensitive to the different tax mixes of different countries and to curb tax avoidance. Finally, the revenue agency must be designed in such a way that it can prove itself a credible enforcer. Brand ( 1996 , p. 14) expresses this design principle as having “a presence across the spectrum,” being everywhere in the public eye, educating, persuading, and sanctioning.

The above are normative principles of tax design that may serve a broader governance agenda, not simply an agenda of reducing tax evasion. In terms of keeping evasion in check, strong empirical support can be found for some design features, most consistently in limiting the opportunity that would-be tax evaders have for avoiding detection (Wärneryd and Walerud 1982 ; Witte and Woodbury 1985 ; Long and Swingen 1988 ; K. W. Smith 1992 ; Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein 1998 ; Richardson and Sawyer 2001 ; Taylor and Wenzel 2001 ). For example, tax withholding systems clearly have worked (White, Harrison, and Harrell 1993 ; Hasseldine 1998 ; IRS 2005 a , 2005 b ), not only reducing opportunity for evasion, but also saving on compliance costs, at least for taxpayers and tax authorities. Third-party reporting has also been shown to improve compliance, lending credibility to enforcement capacity in the process (IRS 2005 a , 2005 b ). In the experimental tax literature the probability of audit and of penalties has been associated with less tax evasion (Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein 1998 ; Slemrod and Yitzhaki 2002 ). The evidence for other principles as a means for reducing evasion is more ambiguous. Research on the empirical relationship between tax rates and compliance has produced mixed results (Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein 1998 ; compare Clotfelter 1983 and Feinstein 1991 ), as has the research on complexity and compliance costs and evasion (Carroll 1992 ; Richardson and Sawyer 2001 ).

In all these areas the caveat is how fair and reasonable people regard the actions of tax authorities operating under these principles. Trading complexity for simplicity needs to be balanced against an understanding that complexity is often the cost of governments pleasing their constituents or being fair (Carroll 1992 ; Warskett, Winer, and Hettich 1998 ; Slemrod and Yitzhaki 2002 ). Forest and Sheffrin ( 2002 ) demonstrate empirically that unfairness overshadows complexity in the prediction of evasion.

Likewise, the effects of audits and penalties are complex. From the authority's perspective, these effects need to be sufficiently negative to signal that noncompliance is unacceptable, though not so negative as to undermine enforcement capability. If too heavy, penalties may be applied sparingly by authority, and when applied may lead to lengthy appeals that undercut the credibility of the revenue agency as an enforcer (Tanzi and Shome 1994 ). Instead of deterring, taxpayers can learn through the process of ineffective audit and successful challenge how to get away with evasion. Even withholding systems can bring risks. There is some evidence that when constraints are tightened in one area of taxation, defiance moves to another area where noncompliance is less easily detected (Yaniv 1992 ; Ahmed and V. Braithwaite 2005 ). Tax evasion is like a squishy ball: pressuring one part results in an extrusion elsewhere.

B. Benefits

Empirical evidence for whether perception of benefits from taxation protect against evasion and avoidance is at best partial and indirect, although theoretical work has led to an expectation that such a relationship should exist in the real world (Falkinger 1988 ). Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein ( 1998 ) reviewed the research on satisfaction with government and concluded that taxpayers who felt that their tax dollars were not well spent may refuse to pay their full tax liability. Richardson and Sawyer ( 2001 ) were more circumspect, warning against generalizations because of variations in what is meant and measured when considering satisfaction with government, for example, whether the reference point is satisfaction with government expenditure for the common good or satisfaction with government spending for oneself.

Western democracies are experiencing high levels of disillusionment with government (Dean, Keenan, and Kenney 1980 ; La Free 1998 ; V. Braithwaite et al. 2001 ), and some studies have linked this general form of alienation with tax evasion (Webley et al. 1991 ; V. Braithwaite et al. 2003 ). Mason and Calvin ( 1984 ) have disputed the claim that individuals who are dissatisfied with government will engage in tax evasion, but they suggest that indirect effects may occur, involving a watering down of the legitimacy of government authority. Ahmed and V. Braithwaite ( 2005 ) found that dissatisfaction with government on tertiary education loans generated dismissiveness of government authority, in turn predicting defiance.

C. From Coercion to Moral Obligation

Each individual is expected to accept his or her legal obligation to comply with the tax laws. If a cooperative response is not forthcoming, coercion makes its presence felt through the revenue authority's enforcement powers: legal sanctions, social stigma, and appeals to an individual's conscience (Grasmick and Bursik 1990 ).

Fear of sanctioning (particularly being caught) has emerged as a significant predictor of tax compliance in some studies (Mason and Calvin 1978 ; Grasmick and Bursik 1990 ; K. W. Smith 1992 ; V. Braithwaite et al. 2003 ), but not others (Hessing et al. 1992 ). Effectiveness of deterrence at the level of individuals varies depending on how those individuals engage with the tax system (Hessing et al. 1992 ; Scholz and Pinney 1995 ; Wenzel 2004 b ).

Of particular policy significance is the finding that personal ethical norms can drive tax compliance, with deterrence playing a role when obligation and social pressure fail (Wenzel 2004 , b ). Adherence to personal ethical norms has been investigated in many guises in the tax literature. Moral obligation, ethical responsibility, and anticipated feelings of shame and guilt have emerged as significant factors in containing evasion (Schwartz and Orleans 1967 ; Grasmick and Scott 1982 ; Grasmick and Bursik 1990 ; Porcano and Price 1993 ) and are regarded as among the most consistent predictors in the literature (for reviews, see Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein 1998 ; Richardson and Sawyer 2001 ).

Mason and Calvin ( 1984 ) have pointed out the interdependencies among obligations, sanctions, and legitimate and credible law. They have argued that when compliance norms are allowed to weaken in a society, particularly as a result of perceptions of unfairness, the shared sense of moral obligation and the accompanying guilt feelings also weaken. Coercive efforts to reverse this downward compliance spiral will not necessarily lift moral obligation. They may increase perceptions of unfairness and crowd out a moral commitment to pay tax (Frey 1997 ).

Although there is evidence that injustice is an important correlate of tax evasion at a general level (Spicer and Becker 1980 ; K. W. Smith 1992 ), there is little consistency in the literature on which aspects of injustice precipitate evasion in contemporary Western democracies (Andreoni, Erard, and Feinstein 1998 ; Richardson and Sawyer 2001 ; Wenzel 2003 ). Contextual variation and whether or not justice is salient in the minds of taxpayers have been proposed as likely explanations for this inconsistency of findings (Hite 1997 ; Scholz and Lubell 1998 b ).

Both vertical and horizontal equity have received attention in the tax literature because of their normative importance, if not their explanatory significance, in relation to evasion. Horizontal equity is a central tenet for the design of tax systems, ensuring that the same tax is paid by members of groups of comparable taxpaying capacity, both in terms of what is expected and what is actually collected (Dean, Keenan, and Kenney 1980 ). Vertical equity attracts attention because of its political dimension. In many Western countries, progressivity is widely endorsed as politically desirable. In principle, each should pay according to capacity; in practice, the rich pay more (Slemrod 2000 ; V. Braithwaite et. al. 2001 ; Edlund 2003 ). In Australia, as elsewhere (for the United States, see Slemrod 2000 ; for the United Kingdom, see Commission on Taxation and Citizenship 2000 ), perceptions of low vertical equity in the tax system invite a great deal of criticism (V. Braithwaite 2003 c ; Rawlings 2003 ).

Interestingly, experimental interventions have supported the importance of justice. In the United States Hite ( 1997 ) was successful in demonstrating improved compliance when a vertical equity message was given for the amount of tax the wealthy pay. Wenzel ( 2005 ) had similar success in Australia with a message that others were paying their fair share of tax.

E. “The Other”

“The other” in figure 15.1 comprises tax advisors, friends, family, work colleagues, celebrities, and newspaper columnists—in other words, those with whom we may identify (Sigala, Burgoyne, and Webley 1999 ; Wenzel 2002 , 2004 , a , 2007). The influence of the other may be pro-tax or antitax. Most of us most of the time take our cue as to what we should do by watching how others observe rules, a form of behavioral modeling that McAdam and Nadler ( 2005 ) refer to as the coordinating function of law. For this reason, whenever people pay taxes the predominant role of the other is assumed to be positive. The negative role is nevertheless present as well, most notably when people believe others are free riding the system (Wenzel 2005 ).

The influence of the other in tax research is most commonly investigated in terms of the role of tax advisors, tax agents, or tax practitioners in “leading” taxpayers into and out of compliance, and of taxpayers demanding aggressive tactics from their agents, who then feel pressured into supplying riskier advice than they would otherwise give (see, e.g., Klepper and Nagin 1989 ; Klepper, Mazur, and Nagin 1991 ). Whereas most taxpayers want a tax advisor who is honest and will keep them out of trouble with the authorities, there is clearly a market in aggressive tax planning. High risk takers find tax advisors who specialize in aggressive advice and creative compliance, whereas cautious, no-fuss taxpayers find advisors who deliver a competent and honest service (Tan 1999 ; Karlinsky and Bankman 2002 ; Sakurai and V. Braithwaite 2003 ).

VIII. Procedural Justice and Dialogue for Effectiveness and Integrity of Tax Systems

In summary, the story of figure 15.1 is that a high integrity tax system is not only well-designed, but also is respectful of and responsive to the democratic will (V. Braithwaite 2003 d ). Three approaches to showing respect and responsiveness have empirical support in the scientific literature and have been used to guide policy decisions. The first approach is to treat taxpayers with procedural justice, manifested in taxpayers' charters or bills of rights (see Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2001 b ). The second approach is to listen to the public on matters relating to raising and spending taxes, illustrated through direct democracy referenda (e.g., in Switzerland), government reform (e.g., U.S. Tax Reform Act of 1986; see Scholz, McGraw, and Steenbergen 1992 ; Kinsey and Grasmick 1993 ), government task forces (e.g., Cash Economy Task Force; see Australian Taxation Office 1998 ), and best practice guidelines for tax administrations (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2001 a ). The third approach is to engage in dialogue with taxpayers, described by J. Braithwaite ( 2005 ) in the Australian context and Happé ( 2007 ) in the Dutch.

Research showing the importance of procedural justice for compliance with the law has been pioneered by Tyler and his colleagues (see Tyler's 1990 seminal work). Procedural justice prioritizes dealing with people in a manner that is transparent, impartial, respectful, and inclusive of others' interests and concerns. The important message from this work for tax research is that authorities develop trust and build their legitimacy, not through giving people the outcomes they want, which is often impossible, but rather through observing their right to a fair hearing and respectful treatment. Kristina Murphy's ( 2003 , 2004 , 2005 ) work with Australians prosecuted for involvement in mass-marketed aggressive tax planning schemes has shown that concessions on penalties, though important, were less significant in fueling long-term anger and resistance than were perceptions of procedural injustice.

The importance of procedural justice is linked to another development: democratic deliberation and consultation (Dryzek 1990 ; V. Braithwaite 2003 d ). The democratic voice seems to have been lost (Commission on Taxation and Citizenship 2000), partly because of the complexity of tax systems (Picciotto 2007 ) and partly because of the common view that people don't want to pay tax (Alm 1999 ) and therefore cannot deliberate on the matter constructively. Loss of hope that authorities will listen and consider different interests has been at the heart of much of the recent loss of legitimacy of governments (La Free 1998 ; V. Braithwaite 2004 ). Cutting the public out of deliberation about the rights and wrongs of tax evasion and avoidance may also be a key factor in escalating what many depict as a cat-and-mouse game of law invention that leads eventually to loss of respect for law (McBarnet 2003 ). The research of Kinsey and Grasmick ( 1993 ) and Scholz, McGraw, and Steenbergen ( 1992 ) on the U.S. Tax Reform Act of 1986 provides evidence of how changes to the tax system can create a far better climate of compliance when the changes are championed through deliberative fora. Bruno Frey and his colleagues have shown that among the Swiss cantons, tax jurisdictions where direct democracy is practiced have higher compliance and, more generally, that deliberative processes and inclusiveness lower prospects of tax evasion (Pommerehne, Hart, and Frey 1994 ; Feld and Kirchgässner 2000 ; Frey and Feld 2001 ; Feld and Frey 2002 , 2005 ; Frey 2003 ; Torgler, 2003 ). As well as being responsive to administrative capabilities, tax design needs the endorsement of the people.

Example of regulatory practice with the Australian Taxation Office's compliance model.

Source : V. Braithwaite 2003 a .

The theoretical account that frames these findings is that when tax authorities and taxpayers have a psychological contract that communicates mutual respect, loyalty, and commitment to the deliberative process, the individual takes on the persona of a citizen who is engaged in the democratic process and accepts responsibility for contributing to the collective good (Feld and Frey 2007 ). The theory of motivational posturing shows that taxpayers slip in and out of this cooperative stance and demonstrates why tax authorities must work at keeping cooperation at the forefront in tax deliberations (V. Braithwaite 2003 b ; V. Braithwaite, Murphy, and Reinhart 2007 ).

These ideas are seen at work in contexts where tax authorities are in dispute with taxpayers. Happé ( 2007 ) has described the process of negotiation with corporations in the Netherlands, and John Braithwaite ( 2005 ) has described resolution of transfer pricing agreements in Australia in similar terms. The Compliance Model in figure 15.2 developed by the Australian Taxation Office (V. Braithwaite 2003 a ) and now adapted to suit the needs of a number of other countries (Job, Stout, and Smith 2007 ) sets out a process whereby dialogue, persuasion, and mutual understanding proceed before the application of penalties. The application of the science of regulatory pyramids, as seen in the Compliance Model, recommends only as much intervention as is required to elicit compliance under the law. Commitment to respectful treatment and openness to cooperation exist at all times, but the pyramid threatens ever-increasing steps of regulatory intervention if evasion persists. A conversation can escalate into a warning, a warning into a wider conversation with stakeholders, conversations into sanctioning, and sanctioning into incapacitation at the pyramid's peak. The use of the Compliance Model requires well-trained staff, tax officers who are technically and interpersonally skilled in dealing with irregularities and escalating sanctions where necessary. This can be a challenge for large bureaucratic tax administrations (Hobson 2003 ; Job and Honaker 2003 ; Job, Stout, and Smith 2007 ; Waller 2007 ). Pyramidal strategies can deliver an extra thousand dollars in revenue from each dollar spent on the strategy (J. Braithwaite 2005 , p. 95).

IX. Conclusion

Understanding and effectively managing tax evasion is a complex task, made more so when the objective is evidence-based policy making. Many different research perspectives have been offered for analyzing the problem, with the result that it is difficult for policy makers to tackle tax evasion in a systemic and holistic way. So how do we integrate what we know? Is there a framework for allowing these perspectives to coexist as policy is formulated? The wheel of social alignments (fig. 15.1 ) reminds us that although the system may be designed in accordance with normatively desirable principles and is expected to affect individuals in predictable ways, the effects may be other than expected. System designers have little control over meanings that individuals give to their experience and share with others, socially constructing narratives that affect levels of cooperation and compliance with authority. Moreover, taxpayers can turn words of defiance into actions of defiance more readily in the twenty-first century because they have greater control over how they manage their tax affairs with support from a burgeoning global financial industry.

Tax authorities can no longer afford to design their systems as they please and ignore public perceptions. Nor is the answer bringing the community onboard through “spin,” which is a short-term approach to a serious problem. Tax authorities need to engage in a reflective process with the community about tax design, tax administration, tax benefits, moral obligation, coercion, justice, and alternative tax authorities. This discussion needs to be augmented by evidence acquired through field experiments and rigorous data analysis. Only then will tax authorities have the knowledge and moral authority required to manage the difficult problems of evasion and avoidance currently besetting tax systems.

The audits conducted in the National Research Program (NRP) will detect a proportion of shadow economy activity but will not detect activity by individuals who are not connected in any way to the official economy. Estimates of the size of the cash economy vary with method, and differences between nations is great; estimates for the United States range from 6 to 14 percent of GNP (see Schneider and Enste 2002 , pp. 29–42).

Ahmed, Eliza, and Valerie Braithwaite. 2005 . “ A Need for Emotionally Intelligent Policy: Linking Tax Evasion with Higher Education Funding. ” Legal and Criminological Psychology 10(2): 1–19.

Allingham, Michael, and Agnar Sandmo. 1972 . “ Income Tax Evasion: A Theoretical Analysis. ” Journal of Public Economics 1: 323–38.

Alm, James. 1999 . “Tax Evasion.” In The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy , edited by Joseph J. Cordes, Robert D. Ebel, and Jane G. Gravelle. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.

Google Scholar

Google Preview

Alm, James, Gary McClelland, and William Schulze. 1992 . “ Why Do People Pay Taxes? ” Journal of Public Economics 48: 21–38.

Alm, James, Isabel Sanchez, and Ana de Juan. 1995 . “ Economic and Noneconomic Factors in Tax Compliance. ” Kyklos 48(1): 3–18.

Andreoni, James, Brian Erard, and Jonathan Feinstein. 1998 . “ Tax Compliance. ” Journal of Economic Literature 36: 818–60.

Australian Taxation Office. 1998 . Improving Tax Compliance in the Cash Economy. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Avi-Jonah, Reuven S. 2000 . “ Globalization, Tax Competition, and the Fiscal Crisis of the Welfare State. ” Harvard Law Review 113: 1575–676.

Bajada, Christopher, and Friedrich Schneider. 2005 . Introduction to Size, Causes and Consequences of the Underground Economy: An International Perspective , edited by Christopher Bajada and Friedrich Schneider. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

Bentley, Duncan. 2007 . Taxpayers' Rights: Theory, Origin and Implementation. Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands: Kluwer Law International.

Braithwaite, John. 2005 . Markets in Vice, Markets in Virtue. Sydney: Federation Press.

Braithwaite, Valerie . 2003 a . “A New Approach to Tax Compliance.” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

———. 2003 b . “Dancing with Tax Authorities: Motivational Postures and Non-Compliant Actions.” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

———. 2003 c . “ Perceptions of Who's Not Paying Their Fair Share. ” Australian Journal of Social Issues 38(3): 335–62.

———. 2003 d . “Tax System Integrity and Compliance: The Democratic Management of the Tax System.” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

———. 2004 . “ The Hope Process and Social Inclusion. ” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 592: 128–51.

Braithwaite, Valerie, and John Braithwaite. 2006 . “ Democratic Sentiment and Cyclical Markets in Vice. ” British Journal of Criminology 46(6): 1110–27.

Braithwaite, Valerie, Kristina Murphy, and Monika Reinhart. 2007 . “ Threat, Motivational Postures and Responsive Regulation. ” Law and Policy 29(1): 137–58.

Braithwaite, Valerie, Monika Reinhart, Malcolm Mearns, and Rachelle Graham. 2001 . Preliminary Findings from the Community Hopes, Fears, and Actions Survey. Working Paper No. 3. Canberra: Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University.

Braithwaite, Valerie , Friedrich Schneider, Monika Reinhart, and Kristina Murphy. 2003 . “Charting the Shoals of the Cash Economy.” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

Braithwaite, Valerie, and Michael Wenzel. 2008 . “Integrating Explanations of Tax Evasion and Avoidance.” In Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behaviour , edited by Alan Lewis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Brand, Phil. 1996 . “ Compliance: A 21st Century Approach. ” National Tax Journal 49(3): 413–19.

Browlee, W. Elliot. 2000 . “Historical Perspective on U.S. Tax Policy toward the Rich.” In Does Atlas Shrug? The Economic Consequences of Taxing the Rich , edited by Joel Slemrod. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Burman, Leonard E. 2003 . “ On Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Federal Mandatory Programs. ” Statement before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, July 9. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=900641

Carroll, John S. 1992 . “How Taxpayers Think about Their Taxes: Frames and Values.” In Why People Pay Taxes , edited by Joel Slemrod. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Clotfelter, Charles. 1983 . “ Tax Evasion and Tax Rates: An Analysis of Individual Returns. ” Review of Economics and Statistics 65(3): 363–73.

Commission on Taxation and Citizenship. 2000 . Paying for Progress: A New Politics of Tax for Public Spending. London: Fabian Society.

Cullis, John G., and Alan Lewis. 1997 . “ Why People Pay Taxes: From a Conventional Economic Model to a Model of Social Convention. ” Journal of Economic Psychology 18: 305–21.

Dean, Peter, Tony Keenan, and Fiona Kenney. 1980 . “ Taxpayers' Attitudes to Income Tax Evasion: An Empirical Study. ” British Tax Review 28: 28–44.

Dryzek, John S. 1990 . Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy, and Political Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Edlund, Jonas. 2003 . “ Attitudes towards Taxation: Ignorant and Incoherent? ” Scandinavian Political Studies 26(2): 145–67.

Evans, Chris. 2005 . “ Avoiding the Issue: Countering the Termites in the Australian Tax System. ” http://www.australianreview.net/digest/2005/09/evans.html .

Falkinger, Josef. 1988 . “ Tax Evasion and Equity: A Theoretical Analysis. ” Public Finance 43(3): 388–95.

Feinstein, Jonathan. 1991 . “ An Econometric Analysis of Income Tax Evasion and Its Detection. ” RAND Journal of Economics 22(1): 14–35.

Feld, Lars P., and Bruno S. Frey. 2002 . Trust Breeds Trust: How Taxpayers Are Treated. Working Paper No. 32. Canberra: Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University.

Feld, Lars P., and Bruno S. Frey. 2005 . Tax Compliance as the Result of a Psychological Contract: The Role of Incentives and Responsive Regulation. Working Paper No. 76. Canberra: Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University.

Feld, Lars P., and Bruno S. Frey. 2007 . “ Tax Compliance as the Result of a Psychological Tax Contract: The Role of Incentives and Responsive Regulation. ” Law and Policy 29(1): 102–20.

Feld, Lars, and Gebhard Kirchgässner. 2000 . “ Direct Democracy, Political Culture, and the Outcome of Economic Policy: A Report on the Swiss Experience. ” European Journal of Political Economy 16: 287–306.

Forest, Adam, and Steven Sheffrin. 2002 . “ Complexity and Compliance: An Empirical Investigation. ” National Tax Journal 55(1): 75–88.

Freedman, Judith. 2004 . “ Defining Taxpayer Responsibility: In Support of a General Anti-Avoidance Principle. ” British Tax Review 4: 332–57.

Frey, Bruno S. 1997 . “ A Constitution for Knaves Crowds Out Civic Virtues. ” Economic Journal 107(443): 1043–53.

———. 2003 . “ The Role of Deterrence and Tax Morale in Taxation in the European Union. ” Jelle Zijlstra Lecture, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Wassenaar. http://www.nias.knaw.nl/en/new_3/new_1/new_12/ .

Frey, Bruno S., and Lars P. Feld. 2001. “The Tax Authority and the Taxpayer: An Exploratory Analysis.” Paper presented at the Second International Conference on Taxation, Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University, Canberra, December 10–11.

Geis, Gilbert, Sophie Cartwright, and Jodie Houston. 2003 . “ Public Wealth, Public Health, and Private Stealth: Australia's Black Market in Cigarettes. ” Australian Journal of Social Issues 38(3): 363–78.

Genser, Bernd 2001. Corporate Income Taxation in the European Union: Current State and Perspectives. Working Paper No. 17. Canberra: Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University.

Grasmick, Harold G., and Robert J. Bursik Jr. 1990 . “ Conscience, Significant Others, and Rational Choice: Extending the Deterrence Model. ” Law and Society Review 24(3): 837–61.

Grasmick, Harold G., and Wilbur J. Scott. 1982 . “ Tax Evasion and Mechanisms of Social Control: A Comparison with Grand and Petty Theft. ” Journal of Economic Psychology 2: 213–30.

Happé, Richard. 2007 . “ Multinationals, Enforcement Covenants and Fair Share. ” International Tax Review 35(10): 537–47.

Harris, Nathan. 2007 . Shame, Ethical Identity and Conformity: Lessons from Research on the Psychology of Social Influence. Regulatory Institutions Network Occasional Paper No 12. Canberra: Regulatory Institutions Network, Australian National University.

Hasseldine, John. 1998 . “ Prospect Theory and Tax Reporting Decisions: Implications for Tax Administrators. ” Bulletin for International Fiscal Documentation 47: 501–5.

Hasseldine, John, and Zhuhong Li. 1999 . “ More Tax Evasion Research Required in New Millennium. ” Crime, Law and Social Change 31: 91–104.

Hessing, Dick J., Henk Elffers, Henry S. J. Robben, and Paul Webley. 1992 . “Does Deterrence Deter? Measuring the Effect of Deterrence on Tax Compliance in Field Studies and Experimental Studies.” In Why People Pay Taxes , edited by Joel Slemrod. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Hite, Peggy. 1997 . “ Identifying and Mitigating Taxpayer Non-Compliance. ” Australian Tax Forum 14: 155–76.

Hobson, Kersty. 2003 . “Championing the Compliance Model: From Common Sense to Common Action?” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

Internal Revenue Service. 2005 a . “ New IRS Study Provides Preliminary Tax Gap Estimate. ” IR-2005–38. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,id=137247,00.html .

———. 2005 b . “ Understanding the Tax Gap. ” FS-2005–14. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,id=137246,00.html .

James, Simon, and Christopher Nobes. 2000 . The Economics of Taxation: Principles, Policy and Practice. 7th ed. Harlow, UK: Prentice Hall.

Job, Jenny, and David Honaker. 2003 . “Short-Term Experience with Responsive Regulation in the Australian Tax Office.” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

Job, Jenny, Andrew Stout, and Rachel Smith. 2007 . “ Culture Change in Three Taxation Administrations: From Command-and-Control to Responsive Regulation. ” Law and Policy 29(1): 84–101.

Jones, John. 1996 . “ Tax Law: Rules or Principles? ” Fiscal Studies 17(3): 63.

Karlinsky, Stuart, and Joseph Bankman. 2002. “Developing a Theory of Cash Businesses: Tax Evasion Behavior and the Role of Their Cash Preparers.” Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Tax Administration, Australian Taxation Studies Program, University of New South Wales, Sydney, April 4–5.

Kinsey, Karyl A., and Harold G. Grasmick. 1993 . “ Did the Tax Reform Act of 1986 Improve Compliance? Three Studies of Pre- and Post-TRA Compliance Attitudes. ” Law and Policy 15(4): 239–325.

Kirchler, Erich. 2007 . The Economic Psychology of Tax Behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Klepper, Steven, Mark Mazur, and Daniel Nagin. 1991 . “ Expert Intermediaries and Legal Compliance: The Case of Tax Preparers. ” Journal of Law and Economics 34: 205–29.

Klepper, Steven, and Daniel Nagin. 1989 . “ Tax Compliance and Perceptions of the Risks of Detection and Criminal Prosecution. ” Law and Society Review 23(2): 209–40.

La Free, Gary. 1998 . Losing Legitimacy: Street Crime and the Decline of Social Institutions in America. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Long, Susan B., and Judyth A. Swingen. 1988 . “The Role of Legal Complexity in Shaping Taxpayer Compliance.” In Lawyers on Psychology and Psychologists on Law , edited by Peter J. Van Koppen, Dick J. Hessing, and Grat Van Den Heuvel. Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlinger.

Maranville, Deborah. 2004 . “ Unemployment Insurance Meets Globalization and the Modern Workforce. ” Santa Clara Law Review 44(4): 1129–58.

Mason, Robert, and Lyle D. Calvin. 1978 . “ A Study of Admitted Income Tax Evasion. ” Law and Society 1978: 73–89.

Mason, Robert, and Lyle D. Calvin. 1984 . “ Public Confidence and Admitted Tax Evasion. ” National Tax Journal 37: 489–96.

McAdam, Richard H., and Janice Nadler. 2005 . “ Testing the Focal Point Theory of Legal Compliance: The Effect of Third-Party Expression in an Experimental Hawk/Dove Game. ” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 2: 87–123.

McBarnet, Doreen. 1992 . “ Legitimate Rackets: Tax Evasion, Tax Avoidance, and the Boundaries of the Law. ” Journal of Human Justice 3(2): 56–74.

———. 2003 . “When Compliance Is Not the Solution but the Problem: From Changes in the Law to Changes in Attitude.” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot UK: Ashgate.

Moran, Beverly I. 2003 . “Taxation.” In The Oxford Handbook of Legal Studies , edited by Peter Cane and Mark Tushnet. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mumford, Ann. 2002 . Taxing Culture: Towards a Theory of Tax Collection Law. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

Murphy, Kristina. 2003 . “ Procedural Justice and Tax Compliance. ” Australian Journal of Social Issues 38(3): 379–407.

———. 2004 . “ The Role of Trust in Nurturing Compliance: A Study of Accused Tax Avoiders. ” Law and Human Behavior 28(2): 187–209.

———. 2005 . “ Regulating More Effectively: The Relationship between Procedural Justice, Legitimacy and Tax Non-Compliance. ” Journal of Law and Society 32: 562–89.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2001 a . Principles for Good Tax Administration—Practice Note GAP001. Paris: Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.

———. 2001 b . Taxpayer Rights and Obligations—Practice Note GAP002. Paris: Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.

Orviska, Martha, and John Hudson. 2002 . “ Tax Evasion, Civic Duty and the Law Abiding Citizen. ” European Journal of Political Economy 19(1): 83–102.

Picciotto, Sol. 2007 . “ Constructing Compliance: Game Playing, Tax Law and the Regulatory State. ” Law and Policy 29(1): 11–30.

Pommerehne, Werner W., Albert Hart, and Bruno S. Frey. 1994 . “ Tax Morale, Tax Evasion, and the Choice of Policy Instruments in Different Political Systems. ” Public Finance 49 (Supplement): 52–69.

Porcano, Thomas M., and Charles E. Price. 1993 . “ The Effects of Social Stigmatization on Tax Evasion. ” Advances in Taxation 5: 197–217.

Rawlings, Greg. 2003 . “ Cultural Narratives of Taxation and Citizenship: Fairness, Groups and Globalisation. ” Australian Journal of Social Issues 38(3): 269–306.

Richardson, Maryann, and Adrian J. Sawyer. 2001 . “ A Taxonomy of the Tax Compliance Literature: Further Findings, Problems and Prospects. ” Australian Taxation Forum 16: 137–320.

Rossotti, Charles O. 2002 . Report to the IRS Oversight Board: Assessment of the IRS and the Tax System . Washington, DC, September. http://www.nteuirswatch.org/documents/numbers/Rossotti%2002%20report%20to%20oversight%20board.pdf .

Sakurai, Yuka, and Valerie Braithwaite. 2003 . “ Taxpayers' Perceptions of Practitioners: Finding One Who Is Effective and Does the Right Thing? ” Journal of Business Ethics 46(4): 375–87.

Sandford, Cedric, ed. 1995 . Tax Compliance Costs, Measurement and Policy. Bath, UK: Fiscal Publications.

Schmölders, Gunter. 1970 . “Survey Research in Public Finance —A Behavioural Approach to Fiscal Theory.” Public Finance 25: 300–6.

Schneider, Friedrich, and Dominik H. Enste. 2002 . The Shadow Economy: An International Survey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Scholz, John T., and Mark Lubell. 1998 a . “ Adaptive Political Attitudes: Duty, Trust, and Fear as Monitors of Tax Policy. ” American Journal of Political Science 42(3): 903–20.

Scholz, John T., and Mark Lubell. 1998 b . “ Trust and Taxpaying: Testing the Heuristic Approach to Collective Action. ” American Journal of Political Science 42(2): 398–417.

Scholz, John T., Kathleen M. Mcgraw, and Marco R. Steenbergen. 1992 . “ Will Taxpayers Ever Like Taxes? Responses to the U.S. Tax Reform Act of 1986. ” Journal of Economic Psychology 13 (4): 625–56.

Scholz, John T., and Neil Pinney. 1995 . “ Duty, Fear, and Tax Compliance: The Heuristic Basis of Citizenship Behavior. ” American Journal of Political Science 39: 490–512.

Schwartz, Richard, and Sonya Orleans. 1967 . “ On Legal Sanctions. ” University of Chicago Law Review 34: 274–300.

Sigala, Maria, Carole Burgoyne, and Paul Webley. 1999 . “ Tax Communication and Social Influence: Evidence from a British Sample. ” Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 9: 237–41.

Slemrod, Joel. 1992 , ed. Why People Pay Taxes. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

———, ed. 1999 . Tax Policy in the Real World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

———. 2000 . “The Economics of Taxing the Rich.” In Does Atlas Shrug? The Economic Consequences of Taxing the Rich , edited by Joel Slemrod. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Slemrod, Joel, and Shlomo Yitzhaki. 2002 . “Tax Avoidance, Evasion and Administration.” In Handbook of Public Economics , vol. 3, edited by Alan J. Auerbach and Martin Feldstein. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Smith, Julie P. 1993 . Taxing Popularity: The Story of Taxation in Australia. Canberra: Federalism Research Centre, Australian National University.

Smith, Kent W. 1992 . “Reciprocity and Fairness: Positive Incentives for Tax Compliance.” In Why People Pay Taxes: Tax Compliance and Enforcement , edited by Joel Slemrod. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Smith, Kent W., and Karyl A. Kinsey. 1987 . “ Understanding Taxpayer Behavior: A Conceptual Framework with Implications for Research. ” Law and Society Review 21(4): 639–63.

Smith, Kent W., and Loretta J. Stalans. 1991 . “ Encouraging Tax Compliance with Positive Incentives: A Conceptual Framework and Research Directions. ” Law and Policy 13(1): 35–53.

Sørensen, Peter B. 1999 . “Changing Views of the Corporate Income Tax.” In Tax Policy in the Real World , edited by Joel Slemrod. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Spicer, Michael W., and Lee A. Becker. 1980 . “ Fiscal Inequality and Tax Evasion: An Experimental Approach. ” National Tax Journal 33: 171–75.

Steinmo, Sven. 1993 . Taxation and Democracy: Swedish, British and American Approaches to Financing the Modern State. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Stiglitz, Joseph. 2002 . Globalization and Its Discontents. New York: Norton.

Tan, Lin M. 1999 . “ Taxpayers' Preference for Type of Advice from Tax Practitioner: A Preliminary Examination. ” Journal of Economic Psychology 20: 431–47.

Tanzi, Vito. 1996 . “ Globalization, Tax Competition and the Future of Tax Systems. ” International Monetary Fund Working Paper, WP/96/141, Washington, DC, December. http://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/96–141.html .

———. 2000. Globalization, Technological Developments and the Work of Fiscal Termites. International Monetary Fund Working Paper, WP/00/181, Washington, DC, November. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2000/wp00181.pdf .

———. 2001 . “Creating Effective Tax Administrations: The Experience of Russia and Georgia.” In Reforming the State: Fiscal and Welfare Reform in Post-Socialist Countries , edited by Janos Kornai, Stephan Haggard, and Robert R. Kaufman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tanzi, Vito, and Parthasrathi Shome. 1994 . “ A Primer on Tax Evasion. ” International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation 48: 328–37.

Taylor, Natalie, and Michael Wenzel. 2001. The Effects of Different Letter Styles on Reported Rental Income and Rental Deductions: An Experimental Approach. Working Paper No. 11. Canberra: Centre for Tax System Integrity, Australian National University.

Torgler, Benno. 2003. Tax Morale and Institutions. CREMA Working Paper No. 2003–09. Basel, Switzerland.

Tyler, Tom R. 1990 . Why People Obey the Law. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Waller, Vivienne. 2007 . “ The Challenge of Institutional Integrity in Responsive Regulation: Field Inspections by the Australian Taxation Office. ” Law and Policy 29(1): 67–83.

Wärneryd, Karl-Erik, and Bengt Walerud. 1982 . “ Taxes and Economic Behaviour: Some Interview Data on Tax Evasion in Sweden. ” Journal of Economic Psychology 2: 187–211.

Warskett, George, Stanley L. Winer, and Walter Hettich. 1998 . “ The Complexity of Tax Structure in Competitive Political Systems. ” International Tax and Public Finance 5: 123–51.

Webley, Paul, Henry Robben, Henk Elffers, and Dick Hessing. 1991 . Tax Evasion: An Experimental Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wenzel, Michael. 2002 . “ The Impact of Outcome Orientation and Justice Concerns on Tax Compliance: The Role of Taxpayers' Identity. ” Journal of Applied Psychology 87(4): 629–45.

———. 2003 . “Tax Compliance and the Psychology of Justice: Mapping the Field.” In Taxing Democracy: Understanding Tax Avoidance and Evasion , edited by Valerie Braithwaite. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.

———. 2004 a . “Social Identification as a Determinant of Concerns about Individual-, Group-, and Inclusive-Level Justice.” Social Psychology Quarterly 67: 70–87.

———. 2004 b . “ The Social Side of Sanctions: Personal and Social Norms as Moderators of Deterrence. ” Law and Human Behavior 28: 547–67.

———. 2005 . “ Misperceptions of Social Norms about Tax Compliance: from Theory to Intervention. ” Journal of Economic Psychology 26: 862–83.

———. 2007 . “ The Multiplicity of Taxpayer Identities and Their Implications for Tax Ethics. ” Law and Policy 29(1): 31–50.

White, Richard A., Paul D. Harrison, and Adrian Harrell. 1993 . “ The Impact of Income Tax Withholding on Taxpayer Compliance: Further Empirical Evidence. ” Journal of the American Taxation Association 15: 63–78.

Witte, Ann D., and Diane F. Woodbury. 1985 . “ The Effect of Tax Laws and Tax Administration on Tax Compliance: The Case of the U.S. Individual Income Tax. ” National Tax Journal 38: 1–13.

Woellner, Robin, Stephen Barkoczy, Shirley Murphy, and Chris Evans. 2005 . Australian Taxation Law. 15th ed. Sydney: CCH.

Yaniv, Gideon. 1992 . “ Collaborated Employee-Employer Tax Evasion. ” Public Finance 47: 312–21.

About Oxford Academic
Publish journals with us
University press partners
What we publish
New features
Open access
Institutional account management
Rights and permissions
Get help with access
Accessibility
Advertising
Media enquiries
Oxford University Press
Oxford Languages
University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
Cookie settings
Cookie policy
Privacy policy
Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Three Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion

Published: 15 July 2006
Volume 67 , pages 15–35, ( 2006 )

Cite this article

Robert W. McGee 1

2724 Accesses

90 Citations

Explore all metrics

In 1944, Martin Crowe, a Catholic priest, wrote a doctoral dissertation titled The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes . His dissertation summarized and analyzed 500 years of theological and philosophical debate on this topic, much of which took place in Latin. Since Crowe’s dissertation, not much has been written on the topic of tax evasion from an ethical perspective, with a few exceptions. In 1998 and 1999, a few articles were published on the ethics of tax evasion in the Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy . An edited book on this topic was published in 1998. The present paper summarizes, updates and expands on Crowe’s work and the other more recent work that has been published on this topic. Three basic views on the ethics of tax evasion have emerged over the centuries. This article presents and critiques those three views and raises some questions about points that have not yet been explored in the literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Justifying Limitations on the Freedom of Expression

Crime, deterrence and punishment revisited

Corporate social responsibility and accountability: a new theoretical foundation for regulating CSR

Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg. 1985, Essays in the History of Liberty , Vol. I, in J. Rufus Fears (ed.) (Liberty Press, Indianapolis) pp. 220–221

A. Mushtaq (1995) Business Ethics in Islam. The International Institute of Islamic Thought and the International Institute of Islamic Economics, Islamabad, Pakistan

Google Scholar

Angelus of Clavisio: 1494. Summa Angelica , as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes , The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 29

Ballas, A. A. and H. Tsoukas: 1998, ‘Consequences of Distrust: The Vicious Circle of Tax Evasion in Greece’, Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (4), 572–596, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 284–304

Barker D. (1992) Losing Faith in Faith. Freedom from Religion Foundation, Madison, WI

Bastiat, F: 1968. The Law . Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Foundation for Economic Education. Originally published in 1850 as a pamphlet, La Loi , reprinted in Sophismes Economiques , Vol. 1, Oeuvres Completes de Frederic Bastiat , 4th edition, Paris: Guillaumin et Cie, 1878, pp. 343–394

Berardi, A: 1898, Praxis Confessariorum II , as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes , The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 35

Binswanger H. (eds) (1986) The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z. New American Library, New York

Block W. (1989) The Justification of Taxation in the Public Finance Literature: A Critique. Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice 3: 141–158

Block, W. (1993). Public Finance Texts Cannot Justify Government Taxation: A Critique. Canadian Public Administration/Administration Publique du Canada 36 (2), 225–262, reprinted in revised form under the title “The Justification for Taxation in the Economics Literature” in Robert W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion (Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998), pp. 36–88

Blum W. J., Kalven H. Jr. (1953) The Uneasy Case for Progressive Taxation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

Buchanan J. M. (1967) Public Finance in Democratic Process. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill

Buchanan J. M., Tullock G. (1965) The Calculus of Consent. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor

Burr W. H. (1987) Self-Contradictions in the Bible. Prometheus Books, Buffalo. Originally published in 1860 in New York by A.J. Davis & Company

Calamari J. D., Perillo J. M. (1970) The Law of Contracts. West Publishing Company, St. Paul

Capriotti E. (1992) The Grounds and Limits of Political Obligation. Peter Lang Publishers, New York

Clark, E. D. (n.d.) ‘Paying Taxes: Time to Stop the Evasion,’ Business Ethics and Integrity (Jerusalem) http://www.besr.org/

Cohn, G.: 1998, ‘The Jewish View on Paying Taxes,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (2): 109–120, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 180–189

Colson C. (2005) Lies That Go Unchallenged in the Media and Government. Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL

Crolly, G.: 1877, Disputationes Theologicae de Justitia et Jure III at pp. 1001ff, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes , The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 38

Crowe, M. T.: 1944, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes , The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84

Davis, H.: 1938, Moral and Pastoral Theology , p. 339, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes , The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 40

deJouvenel B. (1952) The Ethics of Redistribution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Reprinted by The Liberty Fund, Indianapolis, 1990

DeMoville, W.: 1998, ‘The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Baha’i Perspective,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (3), 356–368, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 230–240

Dunn J. (2002) Political Obligation in Its Historical Context: Essays in Political Theory. Cambridge University Press, New York

Encyclopedia of Mormonism : 1992. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company

Englebrecht, T. D., B. Folami, C. Lee and J. J. Masselli: 1998, ‘The Impact on Tax Compliance Behavior: a Multidimensional Analysis,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (4), 738–768, reprinted in R. W. McGee, (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . (Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998), pp. 372–402

Friedman, M.: 1970. The Social Responsibility of Business. The New York Times Magazine , September 13, 1970, pp. 33, 122–126. Reprinted many places, including Kurt R. Leube (ed.), The Essence of Friedman (pp. 36–42), Stanford: The Hoover Institution Press, 1987

Genicot, E.-S.: 1927, Institutiones Theologiae Moralis I , as cited in M. T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes , The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 37

Gronbacher, G. M. A.: 1998, ‘Taxation: Catholic Social Thought and Classical Liberalism,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (1): 91–100, reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion (pp. 158–167). Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998

Gwartney J. D., Wagner R. E. (eds) (1988) Public Choice and Constitutional Economics. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT and London

Hamilton A., Madison J., Jay J. (1961) The Federalist Papers. New American Library, New York

Hayek F. A. (1967) Studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Simon and Schuster, New York

Hayek F. A. (1976) Law, Legislation & Liberty, Vol. 2, The Mirage of Social Justice. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

Hessen R. (1979) In Defense of the Corporation. Hoover Institution Press, Stanford

Hobbes, T.: 1651. Leviathan

Hoppe H.-H. (2001) Democracy: The God That Failed: The Economics and Politics of Monarchy, Democracy and Natural Order. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ

Jefferson, T.: 1789, ‘Letter of Thomas Jefferson to James Madison,’ Paris, September 6, 1789, reprinted in Thomas Jefferson: Writings . (The Library of America, New York) 1984, pp. 959–964

Jefferson, T.: 1813. ‘Letter of Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes,’ June 24, 1813, reprinted in Thomas Jefferson: Writings . (The Library of America, New York) 1984, pp. 1280–1281

Kahn V. (2004) Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640–1674. Princeton University Press, Princeton

Kant I. (1952a) Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals. Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, pp. 251–287, Great Books of the Western World, Volume 42

Kant I. (1952b) General Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals. Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, pp. 381–394, Great Books of the Western World, Volume 42

Kant I. (1952c) Preface and Introduction to the Metaphysical Elements of Ethics. Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, pp. 363–379, Great Books of the Western World, Volume 42

Kant I. (1983) Ethical Philosophy. Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis and Cambridge. James W. Ellington, translator

Lehmkuhl, A.: 1902, Theologia Moralis I , as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes , The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 76

Leiker, B. H.: 1998, ‘Rousseau and the Legitimacy of Tax Evasion,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (1), 45–57, reprinted in Robert W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . (The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, Dumont, NJ, 1998), pp. 89–101

Lewis, J.: 1926, The Bible Unmasked . (The Freethought Press Assn., New York)

Locke, J.: 1689. Two Treatises on Government

MacPherson M. (2005) All Governments Lie. Scribner, New York

McGee R. W. (1994a) Is Tax Evasion Unethical? University of Kansas Law Review 42(2): 411–435, Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=74420

McGee R. W. (1994b) A Trade Policy for Free Societies: The Case against Protectionism. Quorum Books, New York and Westport, CT

McGee Robert W. (1997) The Ethics of Tax Evasion and Trade Protectionism from an Islamic Perspective. Commentaries on Law & Public Policy 1: 250–262. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=461397

McGee R. W. (eds) (1998a) The Ethics of Tax Evasion. The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, Dumont, NJ

McGee, R. W.: 1998b, ‘The Ethics of Tax Evasion in Islam: A Comment,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (2), 162–168, reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . (The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, Dumont, NJ, 1998), pp.␣214–219

McGee R. W. (1998c) Christian Views on The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(2): 210–225. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=461398

McGee R. W. (1998d) Jewish Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 323–336. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=461399

McGee R. W. (1998e) Ethical Views on Tax Evasion among Swedish CEOs: A Comment. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 460–467. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=713903

McGee R. W. (1999a) Is It Unethical to Evade Taxes in an Evil or Corrupt State? A Look at Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Mormon and Baha’i Perspectives. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(1): 149–181. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=251469

McGee R. W. (1999b) Why People Evade Taxes in Armenia: A Look at an Ethical Issue Based on a Summary of Interviews. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(2): 408–416. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=242568

McGee, R. W.: 2003, ‘Trade Policy as Corporate Welfare: The Case of the U.S. Steel Industry.’ in J.␣Biberman and Abbass F. Alkhafaji (eds.), Business Research Yearbook: Global Business Perspectives , Volume X, Saline, MI: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., 2003, pp.␣585–589. A longer version of this manuscript was presented at the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the International Academy of Business Disciplines, Orlando, Florida, April 3–6, 2003. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=410817

McGee R. W. (2004) The Philosophy of Taxation and Public Finance. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, Dordrecht and London

McGee, R. W.: 2005a, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Study of Romanian Business Students and Faculty. Andreas School of Business Working Paper, Barry University, September. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=813345 . Also reprinted in Robert W. McGee and Galina G. Preobragenskaya, Accounting and Financial System Reform in Eastern Europe and Asia (pp. 299–334), New York: Springer, 2006

McGee, R. W.: 2005b, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of International Business Academics. 60th International Atlantic Economic Society Conference, New York, October 6–9, 2005. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McGee, R. W. and A. Bernal: 2006, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Business Students in Poland. Sixth Annual International Business Research Conference, co-sponsored by the Coggin College of Business, University of North Florida and the School of Management, Warsaw University, February 10–11, 2006, Jacksonville, Florida. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McGee, R. W. and Z. Guo: 2006, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Law, Business and Philosophy Students in China. International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD), 2006 Winter Conference, Orlando, Florida, January 3–6, 2006. Published in the Proceedings. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McGee, R. W. and S. S. M. Ho: 2006, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Accounting, Business and Economics Students in Hong Kong. International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD), 2006 Winter Conference, Orlando, Florida, January 3–6, 2006. Published in the Proceedings. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McGee, R. W. and C. Lingle: 2005, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Guatemalan Opinion. 60th International Atlantic Economic Society Conference, New York, October 6–9, 2005. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McGee, R. W. and T. B. Maranjyan: 2006, Tax Evasion in Armenia: An Empirical Study. Presented at the Fourth Annual Armenian International Policy Research Group Conference, Washington, DC, January 14–15, 2006. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McGee, R. W., I. Nickerson and W. Fees: 2005, When Is Tax Evasion Ethically Justifiable? A Survey of German Opinion. Allied Academies 2005 International Conference, Las Vegas, October 12–15, 2005. An abbreviated version was published in Proceedings of the Academy of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues 9 (2), 35–38 (2005)

McGee, R. W. and M. J. Rossi: 2006, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Law and Business Students in Argentina. Sixth Annual International Business Research Conference, co-sponsored by the Coggin College of Business, University of North Florida and the School of Management, Warsaw University, February 10–11, 2006, Jacksonville, Florida. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McGee, R. W. and An. Yuhua: 2006, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Chinese Business and Economics Students. International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD), 2006 Winter Conference, Orlando, Florida, January 3–6, 2006. Published in the Proceedings. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com

McKinsey C. D. (1995) The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy. Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY

McKinsey C. D. (2000) Biblical Errancy: A Reference Guide. Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY

Morales, A.: 1998, ‘Income Tax Compliance and Alternative Views of Ethics and Human Nature,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (3), 380–399, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 242–258

Murtuza, A. and S. M. Ghazanfar: 1998, ‘Taxation as a Form of Worship: Exploring the Nature of Zakat,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (2), 134–161, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 190–212

Nasadyuk, I. and R. W. McGee: 2006, The Ethics of Tax␣Evasion: An Empirical Study of Business and Economics Student Opinion in Ukraine. Andreas School of Business Working Paper, Barry University, January, 2006. Reprinted at http://www.ssrn.com . Also reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), Taxation and Public Finance in Transition and Developing Economies . New York: Springer, 2006

Nishiyama C., Leube K. R. (eds) (1984) The Essence of Hayek. Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, CA

Nylén, U.: 1998, ‘Ethical Views on Tax Evasion among Swedish CEOs,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (3): 435–459, reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 260–282

Pennock, R. T.: 1998, ‘Death and Taxes: On the Justice of Conscientious War Tax Resistance,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (1): 58–76, reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 124–142

Peters W. (1987) A More Perfect Union: The Making of the United States Constitution. Crown Publishers, New York

Plato, 1982. Plato: The Collected Dialogues , Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns (eds). Princeton: Princeton University Press

Podolsky R. E. (2002) Titania: The Practical Alternative to Government. The Titania Group, Inc., Boca Raton, FL

Preobragenskaya, G. G. and R. W. McGee.: 2004, ‘Taxation and Public Finance in a Transition Economy: A Case Study of Russia.’ in Carolyn Gardner, Jerry Biberman and Abbass Alkhafaji (eds.), Business Research Yearbook: Global Business Perspectives Volume XI, Saline, MI: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., 2004, pp. 254–258. A longer version, which was presented at the Sixteenth Annual Conference of the International Academy of Business Disciplines in San Antonio, March 25–28, 2004, is available at http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=480862

Rand A. (1968) For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. New American Library, New York

Reckers P. M. J., Sanders D. L., Roark S. J. (1994) The Influence of Ethical Attitudes on Taxpayer Compliance. National Tax Journal 47(4): 825–836

Rousseau, J. J.: 1762, The Social Contract .

Rowley C. K., Tollison R. D., Tullock G. (eds) (1988) The Political Economy of Rent-Seeking. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, Dordrecht and Lancaster

Schansberg, D. E.: 1998, ‘The Ethics of Tax Evasion Within Biblical Christianity: Are There Limits to ‘Rendering Unto Caesar’?’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (1), 77–90, reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . (The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, Dumont, NJ, 1998), pp. 144–157

Simpson, L. P.: 1965, Handbook of the Law of Contracts (West Publishing Company, St. Paul)

Smatrakalev G. (1998) Walking on the Edge: Bulgaria and the Transition to a Market Economy. In: McGee R. W. (eds) The Ethics of Tax Evasion. The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, Dumont, NJ, pp. 316–329

Smith, S. R. and K. C. Kimball: 1998, ‘Tax Evasion and Ethics: A Perspective from Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (3), 337–348, reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 220–229

Spooner, L.: 1870, No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority, originally self-published by Spooner in Boston in 1870, reprinted by Rampart College in 1965, 1966 and 1971, and by Ralph Myles Publisher, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1973

Tamari, M.: 1998, ‘Ethical Issues in Tax Evasion: A Jewish Perspective,’ Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1 (2), 121–132, reprinted in R. W. McGee (ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion . Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 168–178

Templeton C. (1996) Farewell to God. McClelland & Stewart, Toronto

Torgler, B.: 2003, Tax Morale: Theory and Empirical Analysis of Tax Compliance . Dissertation der Universität Basel zur Erlangung der Würde eines Doktors der Staatswissenschaften

Trenchard, J. and T. Gordon: 1965, ‘Cato’s Letters, no. 59,’ in D.L. Jacobson (ed.), The English Libertarian Heritage . Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965, p. 108, as cited in Murray N. Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty . New York and London: New York University Press, 1998, p. 147, n. 17

Tullock G. (1970) Private Wants, Public Means: An Economic Analysis of the Desirable Scope of Government. Basic Books, New York, Reprinted by University Press of America, in 1987

Tullock Gordon (1983) Welfare for the Well-To-Do. The Fisher Institute, Dallas

Tullock G. (1989) The Economics of Special Privilege and Rent Seeking. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, Dordrecht and London

Tullock G. (2004a) Virginia Political Economy. The Selected Works of Gordon Tullock. Liberty Fund, Indianapolis, Volume 1

Tullock G. (2004b) The Economics of Politics The Selected Works of Gordon Tullock. Liberty Fund, Indianapolis, Volume 4

Vaguine V. V. (1998) The ‘Shadow Economy’ and Tax Evasion in Russia. In: McGee R. W. (eds) The Ethics of Tax Evasion. The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, Dumont, NJ, pp. 306–314

Van den Broeck J. (eds) (1988) Public Choice. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston & London

White S. (2003) The Civic Minimum: On the Rights and Obligations of Economic Citizenship. Oxford University Press, New York

Wicksell, K.: 1896, Finanztheoretische Untersuchungen . Jena: Gustav Fischer. James Buchanan translated part of this work, which was published in English under the title A New Principle of Just Taxation in R.A. Musgrave and A.T. Peacock (eds.), Classics in the Theory of Public Finance , London & New York: Macmillan, 1958, pp. 72–118

Wise D. (1973) The Politics of Lying: Government Deception, Secrecy and Power. Random House, New York

Yusuf S. M. (1971) Economic Justice in Islam. Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, Lahore

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Accounting, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, 33160, USA

Robert W. McGee

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert W. McGee .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

McGee, .W. Three Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion. J Bus Ethics 67 , 15–35 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9002-z

Download citation

Received : 22 October 2005

Accepted : 14 February 2006

Published : 15 July 2006

Issue Date : August 2006

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9002-z

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

tax evasion
Find a journal
Publish with us
Track your research

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

We're Hiring!
Help Center

THE IMPACT OF TAX EVASION ON REVENUE COLLECTION PERFORMANCE IN TANZANIA: A CASE STUDY OF TANGA TAX REGION

Related Papers

derartu defar

Benson James Lyimo

Governments worldwide need resources in form of revenues to perform various functions both social and economic activities. Tax is the main source of revenue for any government and taxes are compulsory payments to government without expecting direct benefit or return by the tax payer – not based on direct quid pro quo principle. Iringa Municipality council has been facing various challenges which make it not to attain the projected targets put. The general objective of the study was to assess challenges facing Local Government Authorities towards implementation of strategies to enhance revenue collection. Case study research design was used in this study. A sample size of 50 out of 90 respondents (i.e. tax payers and TRA employees) was involved. Questionnaires were used to get information from the respondents. Data collected were analyzed descriptively by using SPSS computer software. The findings show that 96% of the respondents reported the availability of taxpayer resistance and low tax morale on part of the citizenry which may result into the reduction of revenue collection. 82% of the respondents agreed that availability of corruption including embezzlement of revenue is one of the challenges which hinder revenue collection. However, 80% of the respondents agreed that by establishing more accessible and transparent payment facilities will enhance tax collection. Also respondents asserted that revenue collectors provide no confidence in tax payers. Thus the study recommends that further studies need to be done on the following issues; (i) what is the perception of taxpayers regarding the misuse of revenue collected by the authority in relation to revenue evasion? (ii) To what extent has Iringa municipality council been able to address revenue evasion?

Laura Alayón Castro

Este trabajo ofrece un analisis de los primeros cinco libros poeticos, publicados entre 1971 y 1979, de Cristina Peri Rossi (nacida en Montevideo en 1941 y residente en Espana desde 1972), prestando atencion preferente a la tematica erotica que desarrollan, pues consideramos que se trata de uno de los ejes mas relevantes de su amplia produccion, en verso y en prosa. Asi, seran abordados los volumenes titulados "Evohe" (1971), "Estado de exilio" (1973), "Descripcion de un naufragio" (1975), "Diaspora" (1976) y "Linguistica general" (1979) con el objetivo de valorar tanto la evolucion poetica temprana de nuestra autora como las reivindicaciones que subyacen en sus versos.

Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú eBooks

Godenzzi Carlos

SAH Annual Meeting

thomas leslie

The geographic fortune that made Chicago the Midwest's rail hub in the 19 th saw a reprise in the 20 th , when the city found itself first at a convenient, mid-continental point for refueling and then, with transcontinental jet service, on great circle routes to Europe, Asia, and South America. The city's efforts to keep up with the commercial aviation's expansion were robust but faced constant pressure from landowners, airlines, taxpayers, and other industries that delayed and often halted progress. The resulting artifacts can be read as evidence of political and financial negotiations, but their rapid obsolescence has also meant that historic hangars, terminals, and other airport structures have been razed to make way for more efficient, larger, or more accommodating structures.

Museu Histórico Nacional. Rio de Janeiro

Silvana M . Lovay

Fabrice Pons

La fouille preventive du site neolithique de Pinot 2 a Blagnac (Haute-Garonne) qui s’est deroulee au cours du printemps 2006 sur une surface d’environ 1500 m² a permis de mettre au jour un petit etablissement agricole du Chasseen ancien relativement bien conserve avec un seul niveau archeologique riche en vestiges materiels et auquel sont associees des structures. Les differentes etudes realisees, notamment ceramiques et lithiques, convergent toutes vers une datation aux alentours de 4250 av. n.e. ce qui fait du site de Pinot 2 probablement une des plus anciennes implantations agricoles connues regionalement. Le mobilier ceramique presente quelques affinites avec le stade ancien du facies chasseen garonnais mais il possede surtout des caracteres mixtes issus pour l’essentiel du Chasseen ancien du midi mediterraneen et dans une proportion non negligeable de la phase recente du groupe de Montbolo. Le materiel lithique apporte d’autres informations sur l’origine de lames en silex utili...

Azze-Eddine Maredj

Acta Crystallographica Section E Structure Reports Online

Muhammad Akmal

Respiratory Medicine

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Tax evasion Tax evasion Taxation'

Create a spot-on reference in apa, mla, chicago, harvard, and other styles.

Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Tax evasion Tax evasion Taxation.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

Nava, Mario. "Optimal taxation, tax evasion and rent-seeking." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1996. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1436/.

Yuwono, Thalyta Ernandya. "Individual income tax in Indonesia behavioral response, incidence, and the distribution of income tax burden /." unrestricted, 2008. http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-12122008-223215/.

Sengupta, Partha. "Essays on the theory of tax evasion." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/39419.

Downing, Jennifer. "Tax Evasion: the underlying problem in united states taxation /." Staten Island, N.Y. : [s.n.], 2006. http://library.wagner.edu/theses/business/2006/thesis_bus_2006_downi_tax.pdf.

Gosai, Rakesh Datt. "The role of the Newton predication test in the tax avoidance methodology a dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (MBus), 2009 /." Click here to access this resource online, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/785.

Lal, Aradhana. "Application of choice doctrine the lessons learnt from Trinity : a dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (MBus), 2008." Abstract Full dissertation, 2008.

Fusitu'a, Lola Kalolaine Hua. "The evolution of construing "tax avoidance arrangement" a dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (MBus), 2008 /." Click here to access this resource online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/506.

Ratto, Maria Luisa. "The role of costs in tax evasion : non-selfish attitudes or percuniary motivations?" Thesis, University of Hull, 2001. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:8363.

Yunus, Mohammad. "Essays on Optimal Mix of Taxes, Spatiality and Persistence under Tax Evasion." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2006. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/econ_diss/15.

Than, Tut. "The Court of Appeal decision in Accent Management Ltd v CIR [2007] NZCA 230 Statutory interpretation in New Zealand tax avoidance law : a thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business, 2007." Click here to access this resource online, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/416.

Cruceru, Luiza Brindusa. "Treaty shopping and the abuse of income tax conventions." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=83949.

Duncan, Denvil R. "Essays on Personal Income Taxation and Income Inequality." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2010. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/econ_diss/62.

Shi, Ruoxi. "The effects of the BEPS Action Plans on the tax avoidance behaviors of multinational corporations in China." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2018. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/598.

Colley, Robert John. "The Clown's Mistress : income tax evasion : ideal and reality in mid-Victorian Britain relating to the detection of, and punishment for, evading the income tax." Thesis, Aberystwyth University, 1998. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.248990.

Mas, Montserrat Mariona. "Essays on Wealth Taxation, Aviodance and Evasion among the Rich." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/668654.

Larsson, My, and Emeline Chamoun. "Taxation of Bitcoin - Filling in the Blanks : An explorative analysis of tax evasion among Swedish investors and the Swedish Tax Agency’s perception of the issue." Thesis, Jönköping University, Internationella Handelshögskolan, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-53367.

Suchowerskyj, Tanja. "Der Begriff des Missbrauchs im europäischen Steuerrecht." Berlin Logos-Verl, 2007. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2958475&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.

Andersson, Malin. "Brott & Skatt : En undersökning av nystartade aktiebolag på Skattekontor Östra Göteborg." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Management and Economics, 1999. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-650.

BACKGROUND The economic crimes related to the taxation authorities (SKM), aim at evading paying taxes and/or wrongly obtaining tax revenue. SKM has noticed that many newly established companies have intended to be carried on, only for a short period of time and with the aim of generating grant-revenues and in the meantime omit to pay or wrongly account for taxes. SKM wants to investigate the possibilities to develop a method of analysis to identify those corporations.

PURPOSE The purpose of this essay is to make a survey of, and identify companies, who fail in their obligations concerning income-tax return and paying taxes and charges and to try to see what is characteristic for those companies in order to find out a method of analysis. Further a study of literature will be done especially concerning who will commit economic crimes and the reasons why they do it.

REALISATION I have investigated how the 251 corporations which were registered for F-tax at the local tax office of Eastern Gothenburg (SKR) during 1996 have handled their settlements and income-tax returns from the registration1996 until 1998. I have worked with my essay under guidance of Olle Thegerström and I have under observance of the secrecy of the taxation authorities taken part of all information that have been necessary to fulfil this work.

RESULTS From the variables that I have used in my investigation I don't think that it is possible to develop a method to anticipate which companies who will fail in their obligations to SKM. That is not to say that there are not structures, which can anticipate how a company will develop. I think that it is values of the manager of business, which to a large extent direct how the company will act in different situations. His values influence in their turn a great number of factors. In that case a model would have to consist of unreasonably many variables related to individual performance. Such a model would be practically impossible and according to my opinion unacceptable from an ethical point of view to use in practice.

Berková, Hana. "Daňové aspekty pronikání podniků na zahraniční trhy." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2011. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-112824.

Gumbo, Wadzanai Charisma. "The taxation of the “sharing economy” in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64045.

Ibarra, Olivares Rebeca. "Social mechanisms of tax behaviour." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2893069a-a2bf-46ff-a769-e9ec4ec58b48.

Sykes, Justin. "The Trouble With Transfer Pricing, and How to Fix It." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/963.

Jaramba, Toddy. "Voluntary disclosure programmes and tax amnesties: an international appraisal." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015666.

Singh, Shalona. "The tax consequences of income and expenses arising from illegal activities." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/59456.

Weston, Tracey Lee. "A comparison of the effectiveness of the judicial doctrine of "substance over form" with legislated measures in combatting tax avoidance." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/100.

Chou, Sophie S. "The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act: The Solution or the Problem?" Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1247.

Olson, William H. (William Halver). "An Empirical Investigation of the Factors Considered by the Tax Court in Determining Principal Purpose Under Internal Revenue Code Section 269." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1987. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332329/.

Uftring, Eric. "Die Auswirkungen von Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes und des Europäischen Gerichtshofes im intertemporalen Steuerstrafanwendungsrecht : dargestellt am Beispiel der Vermögenssteuer, der Zinsbesteuerung und der Getränkesteuer /." Frankfurt am Main [u.a.] : Lang, 2002. http://www.gbv.de/dms/spk/sbb/recht/toc/350517274.pdf.

Fabian, Filip. "Daňové ráje a jejich využití." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta podnikatelská, 2015. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-224811.

Henningsen, David M. "The Origins of the Italian Sovereign Debt Crisis." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/379.

Santana, Rosa Aguiar. "Tributação das manifestações de fortuna, dos acréscimos patrimoniais e das despesas efetuadas, injustificados." Master's thesis, Universidade Portucalense, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11328/1067.

Tasa-Catanzaro, Magaly. "Estrategias de control para ampliar la base tributaria en médicos perceptores de renta de cuarta categoría, periodo 2015-2016." Bachelor's thesis, Universidad de Lima, 2016. http://repositorio.ulima.edu.pe/handle/ulima/3547.

Skládaná, Simona. "Daňové ztráty z hazardního průmyslu v ČR." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta podnikatelská, 2018. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-383536.

Torregrosa-Hetland, Sara. "Tax System and Redistribution: the Spanish Fiscal Transition (1960-1990)." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/387433.

Burešová, Lucie. "Mezinárodní spolupráce v boji proti daňovým únikům v oblasti přímých daní na úrovni OECD a EU." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2015. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-206075.

Romare, Johanna. "Etik och ekonomiskt handlande : En undersökning av moral och egenintresse." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Avdelningen för kulturvetenskaper, KVA, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-111647.

In the printed version of this Ph.D. Thesis the ISBN is incorrect: 9 87 -91-7519-202-4. The correct ISBN is 9 78 -91-7519-202-4 and corrected in the electronic version.The series namn Studies in Applied Ethics is incorrect. The correct series name is CTE .

Villagra, Cayamana Renée Antonieta. "Análisis crítico del régimen de transparencia fiscal internacional vigente en el perú a partir del 2013." THĒMIS-Revista de Derecho, 2014. http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/107805.

Rodrigues, Savio Guimarães. "O bem jurídico-penal tributário: Uma releitura do sistema punitivo brasileiro em matéria fiscal à luz de seu objeto de tutela." Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, 2012. http://www.bdtd.uerj.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=4408.

Tekeoglou, Anastasios, and Henrik Svensson. "EU:s förändringar i moder/dotterbolagsdirektivet angående hybridlån : Hur kommer dessa förändringar att påverka inkomstskattelagen och skatteflyktslagen?" Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Redovisning och Rättsvetenskap, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-26613.

Sennoga, Edward Batte. "Essays on Tax Evasion." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2007. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/econ_diss/18.

Böing, Christian. "Steuerlicher Gestaltungsmissbrauch in Europa : eine rechtsvergleichende und gemeinschaftsrechtliche Untersuchung von Konzeptionen zur Bekämpfung des Gestaltungsmissbrauchs /." Hamburg Kovač, 2006. http://www.verlagdrkovac.de/3-8300-2501-7.htm.

Tarrant, Greg. "The distinction between tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax planning." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004549.

Komárková, Renata. "Daňové ráje a jejich využití." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta podnikatelská, 2013. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-223868.

Florindo, Nuno Ricardo dos Santos. "Tax evasion and tax avoidance in Portugal : recent developments." Master's thesis, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/10420.

Turner, Sean C. "Essays on Crime and Tax Evasion." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2010. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/econ_diss/64.

Bayer, Ralph C. "The economics of income tax evasion." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2003. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2656/.

Vijoen, Janel. "Lessons learnt from history : tax evasion." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/60529.

Cazeiro, Paulo Cesar de Almeida. "Processo de aperfeiçoamento da cadeia de produção e comercialização do etanol: um estudo sobre a regulamentação e a tributação do mercado de etanol combustível no Brasil." reponame:Repositório Institucional do FGV, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10438/8269.

Reineke, Rebecca Valeska [Verfasser]. "Essays on tax evasion and tax avoidance / Rebecca Valeska Reineke." Hannover : Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, 2019. http://d-nb.info/1195137001/34.

Traxler, Christian. "Tax Evasion, Social Norms and Conditional Cooperation." Diss., lmu, 2006. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-49518.

Factors influencing tax evasion

UPSpace Home
University of Pretoria: Research Output
Theses and Dissertations (University of Pretoria)

Description:

Show full item record

Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Theses and Dissertations (Taxation) 229
Theses and Dissertations (University of Pretoria) 20942

Search UPSpace

All of upspace.

Communities & Collections
UP Postgraduate

This Collection

Upspace workspace.

Publications

Tax Evasion and Fiscal Corruption. Essays on Compliance and Tax Administrative Practices in East and South Africa

Tax evasion and corruption in the tax administration hit developing countries hard. The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on these phenomena in three African countries: South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. The thesis is organised in three parts, each containing two essays. The essays are all published internationally.

Part I examines factors determining citizens' compliance behaviour, and is based on survey data from local government authorities in Tanzania and South Africa. The research finds that the way taxes and charges are collected may impact significantly on taxpayers' compliance. Excessive use of sanctions and force are likely to fuel tax resistance.

This finding leads to Part II of the thesis, which focuses on different tax enforcement regimes and what factors determine the extent of coercion practiced in revenue collection. The analysis finds that although corrupt and extortive tax collection may raise revenues in the short run, sustained development cannot occur in an institutional framework that fosters such practises. Thus, a starting point for policy debates in this area is to design and implement measures to fight fiscal corruption.

Such measures are analysed in Part III, which examines recent experiences to fight corruption in the Tanzania and the Uganda Revenue Authorities. The research finds that systemic tax evasion and fiscal corruption must, at least to some extent, be understood in the context of a political economy in which social relations rule out the formal bureaucratic structures and positions. Tax officers are often seen by their families and networks as important potential patrons who have access to money, resources, and opportunities that they are morally obliged to share. Hence, increased salaries may lead to increased social obligations, which again may push tax officers into taking bribes to accommodate the growing expectations around them. If these problems, which are rooted in social norms and patterns of behaviour rather than administrative features, are overlooked, the result may be to distort incentives. As a consequence, reforms that otherwise seem consistent with principles of good public financial management are undermined.

The thesis concludes that the government's credible commitment to fight corruption and transparent use of tax revenues are crucial to improve taxpayers' compliance.

Odd-Helge Fjeldstad

[email protected]
+47 40450010
Africa: South Africa
Tax evasion
Tax administration

Lobbying in tax policy making: The case of VAT-reform in Tanzania

Odd-Helge Fjeldstad and Lise Rakner

The politics of revenue bargaining: Triggers, processes, and outcomes

Chinese Buddhism in Africa: The Entanglement of Religion, Politics and Diaspora

Xuefei Shi, Hangwei Li

Contemporary Buddhism

Whistleblowing in aid organisations: Successful approaches for reporting and protection

Guillaume Nicaise, Mark Worth

Wind and solar energy in Mexico and Kenya: Corruption risks and drivers

Juan Camilo Ceballos Oviedo, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Saul Mullard

Deforestation in Peru: Confronting the informal practices, state capture, and collusion

Camila Gianella Malca

At last, the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) gets a gender lens

Monica Kirya

Social media spurred the last banking crisis. Can it prevent the next one?

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023 amid an online panic over its balance sheet.

When Silicon Valley Bank teetered on the brink of collapse in March 2023, all eyes turned to social media. The California-based bank was a favorite of the tech industry, including venture capitalists and startup founders who began to raise concerns about the firm’s balance sheet on platforms like Twitter , Discord, and Telegram. Panicked customers withdrew $42 billion on a single day, which led to the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

Just as the 2008 crisis rewrote the playbook on bank failures, regulators are still working to parse the circumstances that led to the undoing of Silicon Valley Bank and two other institutions that collapsed the same month: The crypto-focused Silvergate and Signature . Academics and politicians began to immediately finger social media as a potential culprit, with House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) describing Silicon Valley Bank as the “first Twitter-fueled bank run” in a statement on March 12, 2023.

Despite such rhetoric, social media was likely a symptom more than the cause of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, which came about due to poor asset management amid rising interest rates. Nonetheless, government agencies have taken notice of the panicked tweets that preceded the bank’s collapse and are responding to the rapid-fire spread of information with new strategies. These include one U.S. banking regulator working with a blockchain intelligence platform called Inca Digital to monitor social media for discussion about its supervised banks, starting in late 2023.

As banking officials move toward a world of nearly 24/7 operating hours, monitoring social media is expected to become a vital tool for predicting the next potential failure—even if platforms like Twitter are not the main catalyst. “Whether you think social media is causing it or not, it might help [regulators] predict it faster,” said Julie Hill, a banking expert and the incoming dean of the University of Wyoming College of Law. “You might be able to identify that a run is happening faster and give yourself more time to address it.”

Blockchain meets TradFi

A lawyer by training and veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Inca Digital CEO Adam Zarazinski founded his firm in 2018 with the goal of helping companies cut through the noise of the blockchain space. One of Inca’s most popular tools was its social media monitoring, which companies used to track platforms like Twitter to get advanced notice of the latest hack or depeg. “All of crypto lives on social media,” he told Fortune .

Believing that trends in crypto presage those in traditional finance markets—the rise of meme trading is one example—Zarazinski sought to apply this logic to social media. His thesis paid off when, in a conversation with one of the banking regulators, they asked if Inca’s social media tool could be reworked to monitor chatter about banks, rather than blockchain protocols. He declined to share which regulator due to a confidentiality agreement, although the contract began in late 2023.

With a staff of around 40, Inca has been adapting its software to track social media chatter surrounding banks. Rather than sentiment analysis, which uses natural language processing to gauge the tone of text—such as whether it’s intended to be sarcastic or serious—Inca uses AI to identify topic models, or what people are talking about based on the context of posts. Inca trains the model to identify when discussion around a specific topic reaches a threshold and then notifies the client based on different metrics, such as the number of posts about the risks of a specific bank over a certain period.

As a retroactive test, Inca applied its crypto Twitter model to Silicon Valley Bank, which Zarazinski shared with Fortune . The model showed a bar chart breaking down posts from the time into two categories: risk-related and not-risk-related, beginning on Monday morning. Posts begin to tick up on Tuesday morning, and then peak for the first time around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, when Silicon Valley Bank began to issue a series of announcements about its portfolio. According to Zarazinski, that’s when Inca would’ve alerted the regulator. Withdrawals began in earnest the following day.

‘Hard to untangle’

Experts are still split over the role that social media played in the run on Silicon Valley Bank. A widely shared paper by five academics in the wake of the collapse found that social media amplified bank run risks, with the intensity of Twitter conversation predicting the losses in a bank’s share price, which represented broader sentiment about the bank’s stability. “Given the increasingly pervasive nature of social communication on and of Twitter, we do not expect this risk to go away,” they wrote.

Hill, the University of Wyoming professor, said that academics still don’t have a well-accepted theory for what leads to bank runs in the first place, let alone the impact of social media. “If we were really good at that, we would just eliminate them altogether,” she joked.

The narrative that Silicon Valley Bank was the first “social media” bank run spread after its failure, but Hill remains unconvinced, especially given the reality that the tight-knit community of depositors at the bank were likely communicating mainly through private channels like text messages. “I’m not saying that banks or regulators shouldn’t be worried about what’s going on on Twitter, but I just think it’s very hard to untangle,” she told Fortune , adding that social media still represented a new tool for observation.

Jess Cheng, a former senior counsel at the Federal Reserve Board and partner at the law firm Wilson Sonsini, said that the recent crises have challenged many of the first principles of bank supervision, with social media adding a new wrinkle. “No one was thinking about who was tweeting what,” she told Fortune .

As the Federal Reserve explores opening up its settlement service to operate 22 hours per day, seven days per week, the established playbook could grow even more difficult, as regulators may no longer have the weekend to clean up failed banks, as they did with Silicon Valley Bank. The constant beat of social media, and its viral spread, would only fan the flames.

Cheng said that unlike the 2008 crisis, which was largely caused by structural failures at banks, the recent crisis was mostly driven by a flurry of rapid-fire customer withdrawals—which occurred faster than ever thanks to the ubiquity of mobile banking. While Twitter chatter would not have changed the reality of collateralized debt obligations in 2008, it may have caused a flood of VCs to panic. “A banking agency can’t control what people make of what they see on Twitter,” she told Fortune .

Inca is not the first time a banking regulator has dabbled in social media. In January, Reuters reported that the European Central Bank asked some banks to monitor activity on social media. Inca’s approach seems to go further, however, with the firm tracking several platforms, including Twitter, Discord, Reddit, and Telegram.

Since starting the contract, Zarazinski said that no alerts have yet been triggered, although Inca’s model only recently began to monitor smaller and mid-sized banks. One recent candidate was New York Community Bank this March, although Zarazinski said that concerns over its stability were already well-known. But Inca will be ready for the next one.

“Silicon Valley Bank was a real slap in the face for everybody to wake up to how information spreads through social media,” he told Fortune .

Latest in Finance

Anti-tax group that spent millions to oppose Trump before deciding he was unstoppable just issued a wish list of second-term tax cuts

Consolidation could be looming for the wine industry

Napa Valley and wine industry brace for a massive consolidation

GameStop stock is crashing after the company reported weak sales and cashed in on the meme stock revival by selling 45 million shares

Jamie Dimon warns markets are fooling themselves by thinking inflation will soon go away: ‘The chances of something going wrong are higher than people think’

Mistral AI cofounder Arthur Mensch giving a presentation

Microsoft partnership with France’s Mistral AI won’t face British antitrust probe

The ‘X Date’ is when the U.S. runs out of cash—and experts fear election chaos could mean another debt ceiling showdown with no Treasury Secretary to steady the ship

Amazon raised warehouse wages to $15 an hour 5 years ago. Today, half of workers surveyed told researchers they struggle to afford food or rent

Florida HBCU launches investigation after record $238 million ‘gift’ from 30-year-old hemp mogul is deemed likely worthless: ‘I wanted it to be real’

Thousands of North Koreans stole Americans’ identities and took remote-work tech jobs at Fortune 500 companies, DOJ says

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio warns U.S. is ‘on the brink’ and estimates a more than 1 in 3 chance of civil war

Jeff Bezos revealed his secret to Amazon’s success 25 years ago: ‘I asked everyone around here to wake up terrified every morning, their sheets drenched in sweat’

Young adults are getting cold feet about their highly anticipated $84 trillion wealth transfer

IMAGES

Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance Explained.pdf
Tax Evasion
5 Steps You Should Take to Avoid Facilitating Tax Evasion
Tax Evasion Framework
Optimal Policies in the Presence of Tax Evasion
(PDF) Income Tax Evasion Responses to Tax Rate and Tax Enforcement Rate

VIDEO

Difference between Tax Mitigation and Tax Avoidance
Priority Topics, Ques. & Case Laws
Crackdown Against Tax Evasion
Top Dissertation Topics for your degree in 2024
Top 3 #Dissertation topics of 2024
Tax Evasion Explained For Kids! Feat. @boomgonza

COMMENTS

50+ Focused Taxation Research Topics For Your Dissertation
To find taxation dissertation topics: Study recent tax reforms. Analyse cross-border tax issues. Explore digital taxation challenges. Investigate tax evasion or avoidance. Examine environmental tax policies. Select a topic aligned with law, economics, or business interests.
(PDF) Issues, Challenges and Problems with Tax Evasion: The
Boll (2015) outlined two major distinc-. tions in intentional t ax evasion: 1) Evasion. by commission and 2) evasion by o mission. Evasion by commission requires an action by. the tax payer, for ...
Tax Evasion and Tax Compliance: What Have We Learned from the ...
Tax evasion and compliance remain pivotal topics in the realm of fiscal policy and economic research. This paper embarks on an exhaustive analysis of the 100 most cited studies in the field, aiming to synthesize the collective wisdom and insights garnered over decades of rigorous investigation.
Factors influencing taxpayers to engage in tax evasion ...
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence taxpayers to engage in tax evasion. The researcher used descriptive and explanatory research design and followed a quantitative research approach. To undertake this study, primary and secondary data has been utilized. From the target population of 4979, by using a stratified and simple random sampling technique, 370 ...
PDF A Critical and Comparative Analysis of the Prevention of Tax Evasion
knowledge by comparing and evaluating the laws and enforcement policies pertaining to tax evasion in the UK and US. This thesis argues that the laws and enforcement policy pertaining to tax evasion in the UK are neither internally, nor externally, effective in combatting tax evasion and a comprehensive reform of the UK's approach is long overdue.
Dissertation or Thesis
I find no evidence that the effect is stronger for countries where corruption and tax bribery are more pervasive. This study contributes to the broad literature on how corporate taxation affects location of investment by exploring the effect of tax evasion on the foreign investment decisions of U.S. MNCs. Date of publication. 2020; Keyword
Tax evasion and inequality: some theoretical and empirical insights
To directly picture the relationship between inequality and tax evasion, we analysed some stylised facts related to Italy. This country is particularly representative of both tax evasion and income inequality, given that tax evasion amounted to almost 90 billion euros per year from 2010 to 2014, and in 2014, the share of taxpayers declaring an income above 200,000 euros was only 0.25% of the ...
PDF Essays on Tax Evasion
The three essays in this dissertation aim to broaden our understanding of tax evasion and tax enforcement problems. First two essays develop theoretical models to understand how deviation from standard compliance theory affects our understanding of existing op-timal audit rules. The third essay looks at consumer response to a change in the ...
PDF Empirical topics in international taxation: Evasion, avoidance and
high-quality applications in the context of offshore tax evasion. - The literature on offshore tax evasion is still young and many important questions are still unanswered. Students will n undersobtain atanding of the research questions that are currently on the research frontier and develop ideas for novel research questions in the field.
Essays on Tax Evasion
PERMISSION TO BORROW In presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the Library of the University shall
Factors influencing tax evasion
Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. en: dc.description.abstract: Taxation and tax evasion is an observable fact that occurs in all societies. In South Africa, tax evasion is one of the most sinister forms of crime and millions of rands are sidetracked by tax criminals.
Tax Evasion
The IRS has broken down the tax gap into three forms of evasion: underreporting income, nonfiling of tax returns, and nonpayment of a tax debt. The largest component (80 percent) involves the underreporting of income (IRS 2005 a ). IRS (2005 a) audits have shown that the majority of individuals underreporting were understating income, mainly ...
Three Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion
wrote a doctoral dissertation titled The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes. His dissertation summarized and ana ... Since Crowe's dissertation, not much has been written on the topic of tax evasion from an ethical perspective, with a few exceptions. In 1998 and 1999, a few articles were published on the ethics of tax evasion in the Journal ...
Three Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion
Since Crowe's dissertation, not much has been written on the topic of tax evasion from an ethical perspective, with a few exceptions. In 1998 and 1999, a few articles were published on the ethics of tax evasion in the Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy. An edited book on this topic was published in 1998.
(Pdf) the Impact of Tax Evasion on Revenue Collection Performance in
THE IMPACT OF TAX EVASION ON REVENUE COLLECTION PERFORMANCE IN TANZANIA: A CASE STUDY OF TANGA TAX REGION THE IMPACT OF TAX EVASION ON REVENUE COLLECTION PERFORMANCE IN TANZANIA A CASE STUDY OF TANGA TAX REGION By Magesa, A. Marshal A Dissertation Submitted in Partial/ Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award of the Degree of Master of ...
Dissertations / Theses: 'Tax evasion and avoidance'
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Tax evasion and avoidance.'. Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago ...
(PDF) Factors Influencing Taxpayers Engaged in Tax Evasion Evidence
The main purpose of this study is to investigate factors that influencing taxpayers to engage in tax evasion. The researcher used descriptive and explanatory research design and has been followed ...
Dissertations / Theses: 'Tax evasion Tax evasion Taxation ...
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Tax evasion Tax evasion Taxation.'. Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard ...
Theses and Dissertations (Taxation)
Defeating Section 10 (1) (o) (ii) of the income tax act within the parameters of South Africa's general anti-avoidance rules. Molyneux, Chloe Frances (University of Pretoria, 2021-10-14) Background: The foreign remuneration exemption contained in Section 10 (1) (o) (ii) of the Act was capped at R1.25 million with effect from 1 March 2020.
(Pdf) Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance in Harare, Zimbabwe: Empirical
Abstract. Tax evasion and tax avoidance have been a serious problem in Zimbabwe, even before the. introduction of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority in the 1990s. The objective of this study was to ...
Factors influencing tax evasion
Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. Taxation. unrestricted. ... Taxation and tax evasion is an observable fact that occurs in all societies. In South Africa, tax evasion is one of the most sinister forms of crime and millions of rands are sidetracked by tax criminals. Studies from various countries indicate that it is not unusual ...
Tax Evasion and Fiscal Corruption. Essays on Compliance and Tax
Tax evasion and corruption in the tax administration hit developing countries hard. The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on these phenomena in three African countries: South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. The thesis is organised in three parts, each containing two essays. The essays are all published internationally.
Social media spurred the last banking crisis. Can it prevent the next
A U.S. banking regulator is working with an intelligence firm to monitor social media platforms like Twitter and Discord for risk ahead of potential runs.

Useful Links

50+ Focused Taxation Research Topics For Your Dissertation

The Most Pertinent Taxation Topics & Ideas

Hire an Expert Writer

Free Dissertation Topic

Frequently Asked Questions

You May Also Like

Factors influencing taxpayers to engage in tax evasion: evidence from Woldia City administration micro, small, and large enterprise taxpayers

Introduction

Literature review

Theoretical reviews on factors affecting tax evasion

Conceptual framework of the study

Materials and methods

Results and discussion

Factor analysis of the study variables

KMO and Bartlett’s test

Association analysis of the study variables

Effect analysis of the study variables

Hypothesis test

Conclusion and recommendations

Further future lines of research will attempt to:

Suggestion for future study

Availability of data and materials

Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Author information

Contributions

Corresponding author

Ethics declarations

Additional information

Rights and permissions

About this article

Share this article

Does Tax Evasion in Foreign Countries Incentivize or Deter Foreign Investment by U.S. Firms?

Select type of work

Scholarly Articles and Book Chapters

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Scholarly Journal, Newsletter or Book

Poster, Presentation, Protocol or Paper

15 Tax Evasion

II. Magnitude

III. Changes in Tax Evasion

IV. What Change Means in the Tax Context

V. Special Features

VI. The Wheel of Social Alignments

VII. Primary Drivers

A. Tax System Design and Administration

B. Benefits

C. From Coercion to Moral Obligation

E. “The Other”

VIII. Procedural Justice and Dialogue for Effectiveness and Integrity of Tax Systems

IX. Conclusion

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Three Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion

Cite this article

Access this article

Similar content being viewed by others

Justifying Limitations on the Freedom of Expression

Crime, deterrence and punishment revisited

Corporate social responsibility and accountability: a new theoretical foundation for regulating CSR

Author information

Corresponding author

Rights and permissions

About this article

Share this article

THE IMPACT OF TAX EVASION ON REVENUE COLLECTION PERFORMANCE IN TANZANIA: A CASE STUDY OF TANGA TAX REGION

Related Papers

RELATED TOPICS

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Tax evasion Tax evasion Taxation'

Factors influencing tax evasion

Description:

Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Search UPSpace

This Collection

Tax Evasion and Fiscal Corruption. Essays on Compliance and Tax Administrative Practices in East and South Africa

Odd-Helge Fjeldstad

Lobbying in tax policy making: The case of VAT-reform in Tanzania

Chinese Buddhism in Africa: The Entanglement of Religion, Politics and Diaspora

Whistleblowing in aid organisations: Successful approaches for reporting and protection