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1 – 10 of 868Sadress Night and Juma Bananuka
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of adoption of electronic tax system in the relationship between attitude towards electronic tax system and tax…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of adoption of electronic tax system in the relationship between attitude towards electronic tax system and tax compliance using evidence from small business enterprises (SBEs) of an African developing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a quantitative research approach where questionnaires with close-ended questions were used. This study’s research design was cross-sectional and correlational. Usable questionnaires were received from 214 managers of SBEs, and data were analysed with the help of SPSS v22 and MedGraph program (Excel version).
Findings
Adoption of electronic tax system is a partial mediator in the association between attitude towards electronic tax system and tax compliance. Results further indicate that adoption of electronic tax system and attitude towards electronic tax system are significantly associated with tax compliance.
Research limitations/implications
This study was cross-sectional, and monitoring changes in behaviour over time was not possible. The study used a quantitative research approach, and this limits respondents from expressing their feelings fully. The study was conducted in Uganda, and it is possible that the results of this study can be generalized to developing countries with environments similar to that of Uganda.
Originality/value
Whereas there has been a number of studies on tax compliance, this study provides an initial empirical evidence on the mediation effect of adoption of electronic tax system in the relationship between attitude towards electronic tax system and tax compliance using evidence from SBEs of an African developing economy – Uganda.
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Richmond Kumi, Richard Kwasi Bannor, Helena Oppong-Kyeremeh and Jennifer Ellah Adaletey
This paper examined tax compliance and its impact on agrochemical traders in Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examined tax compliance and its impact on agrochemical traders in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the registered agrochemical lists obtained from the Plant Protection and Regulatory Service Department, 92 agrochemical traders were sampled for data collection. Probit regression was used to estimate determinants of tax compliance, whereas the Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment Model was employed to evaluate the impact of tax compliance on business performance.
Findings
The results revealed that age and gender relate positively to enforced tax compliance, while education positively impacts voluntary tax compliance. Nonetheless, tax rate, trust and monthly sales positively affect voluntary tax compliance but negatively impact enforced tax compliance. Inversely, while authorities’ power negatively impacted voluntary compliance, it positively influenced enforced tax compliance confirming the Slippery Slope Framework.
Originality/value
To the best knowledge of the authors, this paper is the first to investigate tax compliance determinants and impact among agrochemical traders, despite the tremendous growth of the agrochemical sub-sector in Africa and Ghana. Therefore, this study makes a modest contribution to empirical studies that validate the Slippery Slope Framework in promoting tax compliance in the agricultural and agribusiness sectors of a developing country. Similarly, it also unearths the impact of tax compliance on agribusiness growth which has yet to be highlighted in the extant literature.
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Richmond Kumi and Richard Kwasi Bannor
The paper aims to examine agrochemical traders’ tax morale in three Ghanaian regions.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine agrochemical traders’ tax morale in three Ghanaian regions.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were collected from 92 respondents using structured questionnaires. A multistage sampling technique was employed and used in selecting respondents.. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and quantile regression analysis were used to analyse data obtained via the questionnaires.
Findings
The study found tax reporting knowledge, tax calculating knowledge and tax payment knowledge to be the keen factors influencing agrochemical traders’ tax knowledge. It was also revealed that age, religion and marriage positively influence the tax morale of traders. Inversely, gender, high level of education and monthly sales were found to affect tax morale negatively. Moreover, trust (respect, trustworthiness and expertise knowledge) negatively influenced tax morale. Authorities’ tax knowledge and power (sanction and lockdown) were revealed to impact tax morale positively. However, tax morale decreases amongst agrochemical traders with higher tax morale when sanction increases.
Originality/value
Unlike previous studies which focussed on tax morale amongst individuals and firms outside the agribusiness sector, this study examined the tax morale within the informal agrochemical trading sector, which has recently attracted colossal patronage due to the high usage of agrochemicals amongst farmers in Africa and Ghana. This study also assumed tax morale to be at different levels; hence the factors that affect the morale at different levels differ. Therefore, the study examined the factors influencing tax morale amongst agrochemical traders by segregating tax morale into quartiles. Relating to theory, the economic deterrence theory was used to ground the study, which is not usually used in most tax morale studies.
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Mohammad Kamal Abuamsha and S. Shumali
The study aims at estimating the shadow economy (SE) using the method of demand for currency in Palestine for the period 2008–2018 by studying the relationship between a group of…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims at estimating the shadow economy (SE) using the method of demand for currency in Palestine for the period 2008–2018 by studying the relationship between a group of variables that affect the ratio of money traded outside the banking system to the money supply in the broad sense.
Design/methodology/approach
The study has adopted analytical and descriptive research methods to estimate SE in Palestinian territories. The data has been obtained from the inflation reports issued by the Palestinian Monetary Authority for ten years, from 2008 to 2018. A standard model was constructed using EViews version 8 for statistical data processing after converting the annual data to quarterly data.
Findings
The authors demonstrated that the size of the SE in Palestinian territories has varied over time, and the annual average of its size during the study period reached about $1764.893 (in millions). This amount constitutes about 15.5% of the gross domestic product. The study provides recommendations for reducing the size of the SE in Palestinian territories.
Practical implications
The current study shows that shadow economics could significantly matter for economic policy design by policymakers.
Originality/value
This study deals directly with Tanzi’s “estimation of shadow economy in Palestinian territories” concept and its impact on economic policies.
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Mariam AbdelNabi, Khedr Wanas and Sarah Mansour
Tax evasion is an economic crime that nearly all world countries suffer from. Its consequences are countless, including poor public spending on infrastructure projects and social…
Abstract
Purpose
Tax evasion is an economic crime that nearly all world countries suffer from. Its consequences are countless, including poor public spending on infrastructure projects and social welfare programs, low economic growth and development, institutional mistrust and fiscal deficits. For developing countries in particular, targeting development programs and infrastructural investments requires an efficient tax collection policy to generate sufficient funds for such purposes. This makes the tax evasion problem a critical one and countering it extremely policy relevant. Based on evidence that shows how the understanding of taxpayers' behavior is an essential factor in fighting evasion, this paper aims to test different factors that might incentivize citizens using a behavioral and experimental approach, in non-Western educated industrialized rich democracies (non-WEIRD) countries, to comply more.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a survey experiment to examine the impact of different behavioral primes on tax compliance behavior. Specifically, it observes subjects' compliance behavior in two contexts: voice and empathy. A total of 273 students from a big public university in Egypt were randomly selected to participate in this study.
Findings
In the “Voice” treatment, the explanatory variable (VOICE) was found statistically significant, thus confirming the hypothesis that democracy, through having a voice in the decision-making process, affects compliance positively. As for the “Empathy” treatment, the explanatory variable (EMPATHY) was also found significant. This confirms the second hypothesis that triggering feelings of empathy, through highlighting the good cause behind public spending that uses taxpayers' money, affects compliance behavior positively.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the fact that the experimental methodology is a methodology with high internal validity, examining the impact of a specific intervention on behavior, a replication of the experiment in other contexts might be useful in increasing the external validity of the findings. Specifically, conducting this experiment on a nonstudent sample might lead to even more powerful results by increasing the ecological validity of the results.
Practical implications
This study advocates a more behaviorally informed public policy. Specifically, Egyptian policymakers are recommended to adopt behavioral nudges as a complement to existing policies. The authors believe the findings, if confirmed by repeated experiments (lab, lab-in-the-field and rational choice theories on both student and non-student samples) in a number of Arab countries, might also help in offering cost-effective nudges for the Arab world policymakers, where culture and the political context are to a great extent similar.
Social implications
The findings of the study have a number of social implications. Higher tax compliance will enable higher levels of public spending on a number of social targets such as education, health and welfare programs.
Originality/value
While the study builds on recent research examining how to incentivize tax compliance, it simultaneously seeks to make three contributions. First, the study design aims to apply recent advances in behavioral sciences (impact of voice and empathy) in a policy area that has not seen much use of such interventions in the Egyptian context (i.e. tax compliance). Second, the study is policy relevant in the sense that it aims to increase the effectiveness of existing government policies by complementing them with behavioral primes. Third, there is nearly no literature found applying this topic in a non-WEIRD country such as Egypt.
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Abdulsalam Ahmed Sawmar and Mustafa Omar Mohammed
This paper aims to construct a conceptual framework which explains the relationship between governance of zakat institutions and zakat payment compliance by using the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to construct a conceptual framework which explains the relationship between governance of zakat institutions and zakat payment compliance by using the organisational legitimacy theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts content analysis and a review of multidisciplinary literature that primarily relate to zakat institutions, public governance and compliance behaviour.
Findings
The paper has developed a model, adapted from Abioye et al. (2013), concerning the influence of governance mechanisms on zakat payers’ compliance using trust as a moderator. The model comprises four governance mechanisms which influence zakat payment compliance. The four mechanisms include the board and leadership attributes, transparency and disclosure practices, stakeholder management practices and procedural justice. Trust has a moderating effect on the relationship between governance and zakat compliance.
Research limitations/implications
This model is applicable to regulated zakat systems, where the state has established zakat institutions and regulations for the collection and distribution of zakat, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan and Malaysia.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a model, based on Abioye et al. (2013), to explain the influence of governance on zakat payment compliance. The novelty of the study is the addition of one new critical variable, procedural justice, to the Abioye et al.’s (2013) framework. Secondly, the model is proposed for regulated zakat jurisdictions.
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Zaleha Othman, Mohd Fareez Fahmy Nordin and Muhammad Sadiq
This study provides in-depth explanation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud prevention towards sustainability business.
Abstract
Purpose
This study provides in-depth explanation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud prevention towards sustainability business.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies a qualitative research method, i.e. case study, to address the specific research objective.
Findings
The finding revealed a GST prevention model towards sustainable business. The finding shows that it is pertinent for the government to set preventive strategies in order to retain sustainable income for the government. Two essential dimensions emerged in the findings to support preventive strategies, namely macro- and micro-level measures.
Practical implications
The findings of this study provide managers, investors and policymakers with evidence to what extent GST fraud could be minimize in order to safeguard government source of revenue and retain sustainable business in a country. As GST is an important source of revenue for the government, it is thus crucial to prevent fraud from occurring.
Originality/value
Past studies have primarily focused on GST implementation from the perspective of service tax effectiveness and efficiency. However, this study examined the impact of GST fraud to determine measures that could ensure service tax sustainability using preventive strategies, in turn, introducing to the existing literature on indirect tax.
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Anna Herculina Anculien Schoeman, Christopher C. Evans and Hanneke Du Preez
Correct registration for the value-added tax (VAT) is a key aspect of tax compliance; it is vital in ensuring adequate tax revenue collection in all countries but particularly in…
Abstract
Purpose
Correct registration for the value-added tax (VAT) is a key aspect of tax compliance; it is vital in ensuring adequate tax revenue collection in all countries but particularly in developing countries such as South Africa. Non-registration hinders sufficient tax revenue collection, stifles economic growth and causes unfair competition with formal businesses. The purpose of this study is to determine whether changes in the VAT rate affect the registration decisions of businesses, ultimately impacting upon tax compliance behaviour and tax revenue collection.
Design/methodology/approach
An online 2 × 2 between-subjects field experiment was conducted, as part of a broader study, to consider compliance with registration requirements by small business entities in South Africa, specifically when there are changes in the VAT rate.
Findings
Although the study establishes that changes in the VAT rate tend not to have a significant impact on the registration decisions of such taxpayers, it nonetheless indicates that the magnitude of the change in the VAT rate may be influential on registration decisions, whether relating to compulsory or voluntary registration. More particularly, the greater the magnitude of the VAT rate decrease (increase), the more likely it is that taxpayers will register (deregister) for VAT purposes, indicating that the magnitude of changes in the VAT rate do have an impact on VAT registration decisions and therefore on tax compliance more generally.
Research limitations/implications
Not only does the study add to the limited knowledge available on registration decisions of small businesses, but also gives valuable guidance to policymakers in terms of determining the VAT rate for the country.
Originality/value
Not only does the study add to the limited knowledge available on registration decisions of small businesses, but it also gives valuable guidance to policymakers in terms of determining the VAT rate for the country.
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