The Relationship between Corruption and Tax Burden: The Moderator Effect of Strength of Auditing and Reporting Standards

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the moderator effect of strength of auditing and reporting standards on the relationship between corruption and tax burden in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The study was conducted on annual data during the period 2011–2015 about the corruption, tax burden and strength of auditing and reporting standards of OECD member countries. In this context, data of corruption (Corruption Perceptions Index – CPI) were collected from Transparency International – the Global Coalition against Corruption; data of tax burden were collected from International Monetary Fund (IMF) database, and data of strength of auditing and reporting standards were collected from The Global Competitiveness Reports. The study analysed the relationship between corruption and tax burden and the moderator effect of strength of auditing and reporting standards on the relationship between two variables by the panel data analysis. The results of this analysis showed that have significantly and a negative relationship between corruption and tax burden; strength of auditing and reporting standards have significantly and a positive strengthen relationship between corruption and tax burden.