An Examination of the Role of Ethics in Tax Compliance Decisions

Abstract

The relationship between ethical beliefs and tax compliance is well documented, but extant research has not explored the relationships among general ethical beliefs, contextual ethical beliefs, and tax compliance behavior. In this study we propose a model that is intended to clarify the mechanisms through which ethical beliefs impact tax compliance. In the model, contextual ethical beliefs represent the mechanism through which individuals' general ethical beliefs impact tax compliance behavior. The model is tested using participants' ethical orientations as measures of their general ethical beliefs and using participants' ethical evaluations of others' tax compliance decisions as measures of their contextual ethical beliefs. Tax compliance behavior is inferred from participants' estimates of the likelihood that they would evade. Overall, the findings from our study support the proposed model. Ethical orientations are directly related to ethical evaluations; ethical evaluations directly predict tax compliance behavior; and finally, ethical orientations are indirectly related to tax compliance behavior. That is, ethical orientations influence tax compliance behavior, but only through their influence on ethical evaluations. We believe that the proposed model provides an important contribution by providing a framework that outlines the routes through which ethical beliefs impact tax compliance.