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This paper aims to identify the competency domains to be included in a conceptual framework for tax literacy.

Using a qualitative approach, this study expands on the current understanding of the competency areas of tax literacy. A dual-purpose literature review was, therefore, conducted. The literature review first provided the body of knowledge that underpinned the study and second, the key data concepts for the draft competency structure to determine whether there is consensus on an international (supra) level. The literature review was supported by an interactive qualitative analysis to further present the concept of tax literacy from the perspectives of various national stakeholders in an emerging economy. Accounting and public finance educators from a higher education institution, as well as financial advisers as representatives of a profession with a direct interest in tax-related matters, were considered.

Although a discipline lens seems to strongly influence the previous authors’ view of what tax literacy means, it was possible to identify certain tax literacy competency domains that should be included in a taxpayer education curriculum. These content domains consist first of a knowledge domain which includes disciplinary, interdisciplinary, epistemic and procedural knowledge components. Second, the skills domain should include components of cognitive and meta-cognitive, social and emotional, as well as physical and practice skills. Third, personal and societal attitudes and values represent the third domain. Fourth, transformative competencies such as value creation, taking responsibility and reconciliation attributes are important. Finally, core foundational competencies, such as numeracy and literacy should be in place.

The draft conceptual framework for tax literacy could serve as the foundation for the further development of a tax literacy measurement instrument, as well as tax education courses.

A more holistic conceptual framework for tax literacy, portraying the multidimensional nature of taxation, is presented in contrast to the limited one-dimensional position presented up to now.

This paper uses two studies to examine taxpayers' knowledge of tax incentives for charitable giving and also explores the consequences of this knowledge on charitable giving decisions. The first study surveys 600 US taxpayers to establish a baseline understanding of how making a charitable contribution affects taxpayers. In the second study, we conduct an experiment with 201 US taxpayers in which we manipulate the knowledge of taxpayers by providing an educational intervention; we also measure, if, how much is donated in a hypothetical scenario under various tax deductibility conditions. The first study indicates fewer than half of participants understand the basic principles of how charitable donations affect tax liability. Our second study reveals that a short educational video is extremely effective at improving taxpayers' understanding and helping them accurately estimate the tax benefit associated with charitable giving. However, through moderated mediation analysis, we also show that participants who received this educational intervention and accurately estimated the tax benefits in turn decreased their charitable giving. We conclude that the majority of US taxpayers do not understand whether they benefit from certain deductions and may be overestimating the benefit they receive from charitable giving, resulting in giving more than they intend.

The central issue of this study is to gauge the general level of tax literacy among salaried taxpayers in Sabah and Sarawak. This study is undertaken to shed light on our preparedness to face the challenge posed by the implementation of Self Assessment System (SAS) on salaried taxpayers beginning from the year 2004 where taxpayers are expected to be functionally literate to compute their own tax liabilities accurately. For the purpose of this study, samples were randomly taken from salaried taxpayers working in the main cities in Sabah namely Sandaken, Tawau and Kota Kinabalu and Sarawak which were Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri. Statistical test using One‐Way ANOVA was applied on the mean tax literacy scores by place of work. Relationships between tax literacy scores and place of work were also analyzed by using the Chi‐square test of independence. Some of the findings, among others, indicated that salaried taxpayers in Sarawak were found to be more tax literate compared to their counterparts in Sabah. It was also discovered that the sector of employment is not an important factor of tax literacy. Public and corporate sector employees wee found to be equally literate as indicated by insignificant difference in the mean scores of these two sectors. Overall, it could be inferred that salaried taxpayers in both states are not prepared for SAS in 2004 as reflected by a low percentage of “very literate” category.

The authors use experiential learning theories to examine college students’ acquisition of tax knowledge and tax literacy. Tax knowledge is important because taxation affects virtually all adults, college students are often employed and subject to individual taxation, and understanding taxation and tax planning has both current and future implications for individuals’ financial well-being. Further, taxation is a key policy issue, and college student voters have the potential to impact tax policy choices. The results of this study show that real-world experiences improve college students’ understanding of tax concepts; this relationship holds for overall understanding and for understanding both current tax issues and tax issues that will have an impact in the future. The authors predict and find that a student’s socioeconomic status is positively related to understanding of tax concepts. The authors also find that the level of understanding of tax concepts is still limited; many students do not have a strong knowledge of tax concepts. The relatively low levels of understanding may have implications for structuring college curricula to improve tax literacy.

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the factors affecting the tax morale of workers in the gig economy. Tax morale is defined as the willingness and motivation to comply with tax laws.

Data was collected from gig economy workers through a questionnaire survey and analysed using second-generation multivariate analysis (partial least squares-structural equation modelling).

The findings reveal that while the extent of the dependency on the gig economy has a positive relationship with tax morale, the level of education has a negative relationship. However, in contrast to reflective moral attentiveness, perceptual moral attentiveness positively influence tax morale.

As no earlier study has examined factors affecting tax morale in the context of the gig economy, this research will be beneficial to tax authorities and policymakers. This study also offers insights into multidimensional aspects of the tax morale of those working in the gig economy.

This study aims (i) to assess the quest for tax education among working adults that pursuing off‐campus non‐accounting program, (ii) to analyze the level of tax knowledge among the working adults, (iii) to elicit the relevant tax topics to be taught should tax education be integrated into non‐accounting curriculum in higher education. We surveyed 450 working adults pursuing off‐campus non‐accounting program in one Malaysian public university. 190 usable responses were received. The survey found 64 per cent of the respondents were keen to learn taxation, and only 23.7 per cent of the respondents possessed high level of tax knowledge. The topics that they desired to learn the most are basic tax principles, personal taxation, tax planning for individuals and taxation for small business and company. The findings suggest that as we moved into the era of self‐assessment tax system, it is imperative for the accounting academics and the education authorities to seriously consider introducing tax education in non‐accounting curriculum in higher education.

Even as governments worldwide take extraordinary measures and spend unprecedented amounts of their state budgets to combat COVID-19, tax compliance remains challenging. Therefore, this study employs previously identified predictors to investigate the factors that persuade individual taxpayers to comply with the law.

Individual taxpayers in Indonesia (N = 699) who had experienced COVID-19-related benefits were asked to assess the provided evaluation regarding the tax compliance intention and its determinants. The bootstrapping analysis was employed using smart partial least squares (SmartPLS) to test the hypotheses.

The results suggest that the perceived fiscal exchange, tax morality, tax fairness, tax complexity and the power of authority are significant determinants of tax compliance intention. This study also supports the indirect effects of numerous factors on tax compliance intention through the perceived fiscal exchange and tax morality. In practice, reminding taxpayers of how tax payments fund public services, improving taxpayer morale, increasing the perceived fairness of the tax system, streamlining the tax code and managing the effectiveness of tax administration could all lead to a greater intention to comply with the law.

In addition to highlighting the dynamics of tax compliance amid the unprecedented pandemic crisis, our findings also provide insight into the importance of perceived fiscal exchange and tax morality for achieving and sustaining planned behavior to comply with tax rules.

Tax evasion has been a major problem for governments around the world, with innovative and ever-changing schemes making the practice increasingly difficult to regulate. In light of this, this study aims to use the extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (Beck and Ajzen, 1991) to predict individuals’ intentions to engage in tax evasion.

The research adopts a two-stage approach for data collection and analysis. First, the authors obtained survey data from 150 taxpayers in Barbados to conduct multivariate analyses to test the validity of the study’s hypotheses. The authors also used several open-ended questions on the survey instrument to conduct thematic analyses to further explore the influence of the antecedents of intentions to engage in tax evasion. Second, the authors conducted a focus group with two tax officials and three tax advisors.

The authors find that attitudes toward the behaviour, perceived behavioural control and moral obligation are significant predictors of intentions to engage in tax evasion. Factors cited as encouraging tax evasion are perceived fairness, tax authorities’ institutional infrastructure and responses, potential financial benefit, perceptions of inequality, low level of trust in tax authorities, perceived poor use of tax revenues and poor treatment of taxpayers. Conversely, factors cited as discouraging tax evasion include fear of prosecution, high morals and potential adequate governmental regulation.

The study measures intentions to engage in tax evasion rather than actual behaviour. The study does not measure social desirability bias.

This paper tests the applicability of variables used in the extended version of the TPB to predict intentions to engage in tax evasion in a Caribbean-based emerging economy. It also applies a mixed-methods approach of collecting data from taxpayers, tax advisors and tax officials.