Relations between Procedural Fairness, Tax Morale, Institutional Trust and Tax Evasion

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, pp. 41-52

Date: July 2014

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract: The slippery slope model of forced or voluntary tax compliance might be seen as a reflection of the relationships between taxpayers and the tax authorities. Tax compliance depends on two dimensions: power of tax authorities and trust in the tax authorities (Kirchler, 2007). Trust in the authorities is the basis of civic commitment. The crucial role to create synergic climate and voluntary compliance seems to play procedural fairness. It was expected that procedural tax fairness directly affects trust in authority, tax morale and indirectly via tax morale affects tax compliance. Empirical support was found for these assumptions. The conclusions sum up the key issues discussed, policy implications and the limitation of the analysis.

Keywords: Tax Evasion; Tax Morale; Procedural Fairness; Trust.