Tax evasion as a criminal offense in developing countries: Some perception from business organizations

Abstract

A reduced budget negatively affects the socio-economic development of developing countries. The research problem lies in analyzing the views of 200 Kosovar taxpayers of business organizations, regarding the impact of fiscal evasion on socio-economic development. The purpose of this research is to analyze the views of business organizations regarding weak penalties for tax evasion in Kosovo, tax rates in Kosovo, tax authority in Kosovo, and their impact on the level of fiscal evasion in Kosovo. The methodology of this paper is based on descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression, and ANOVA. The contribution of this paper lies in the fact that it is one of the first papers that has theoretically addressed tax evasion and its impact on the socio-economic development of Kosovo, therefore, this is where the relevance of this study lies. So, as the research of Abdixhiku, Krasniqi, Pugh, and Hashi (2017), this paper also provided evidence related to tax evasive behavior of Kosovo business organizations. The main findings of the research show that the level of taxes affects the level of tax evasion, so the perceptions of business organizations are that the current level of taxes affects the growth of fiscal evasion, which is harmful to the socio-economic development of developing countries. Tax evasion is a criminal offense against the economy (Ameyaw, Addai, Ashalley, & Quaye, 2015). This activity has a devastating effect on the state budget (Omodero, 2019). In conclusion, it can be affirmed that the level of taxes for Kosovo’s organizations should be reviewed with the aim of reducing the current level of fiscal evasion.