Tax Profession Research Articles

Pengaruh Persepsi Profesi Perpajakan, Pengetahuan Pajak, dan Penghargaan Finansial terhadap Minat Berkarir di bidang Perpajakan

This research was conducted to examine the influence of perceptions of the tax profession, knowledge of taxation, and financial rewards on interest in a career in the field of taxation. The research adopts a quantitative approach, with data obtained through the distribution of questionnaires via Google Forms. The population for this study comprised accounting students at Bengkulu University, and the research sample was determined using purposive sampling. Throughout the research period, data was collected from 71 respondents. The gathered data were processed using the SPSS 24 application with the multiple linear regression method. The findings of this research indicate that perceptions of the tax profession positively influence interest in a career in the field of taxation. However, tax knowledge and financial rewards do not exhibit any influence on interest in a career in taxation.

Determinant Factors of Tax Digitalization Adoption: Towards Sustainable Tax Profession

The rapid advancement of digital technology has significantly impacted various industries, including taxation. Tax digitization contributes many benefits such as streamlining tax processes, reducing administrative burden, enhancing efficiency, and increasing data security. To date, tax professionals in advanced economies have drawn attention to digitalization to compensate for their work's complexity and ensure the profession's sustainability. However, Malaysian tax professionals are still at the beginning of the transformation process towards a modern digitally oriented system. Considering this issue, the study aims to propose factors that would expedite the adoption of tax digitalization among tax professionals. By examining performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, policymakers, professional bodies, and tax authorities can formulate strategies to promote widespread adoption, leading be more efficient and sustainable tax profession. This move aligns with the Malaysian government's aspirations and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 9, fostering inclusive and sustainable industry growth through innovation.

“Uncomfortable territory”: personal and organisational values in the tax profession

ABSTRACT As professionals, accountants hold a public interest mandate based in part on ethical claims. However, individual professionals, particularly in tax, commonly see their work as more technical than relating to the common good. Rising public concern about tax avoidance focuses attention on how ethical values are brought to bear on tax work. In these contexts, the tension between personal and organisational values merits attention. This study draws on a large international survey and a set of 68 semi-structured interviews to explore the balance between the personal ethical or spiritual values that individuals bring to their tax work and the ethical framing of their organisations. This direct approach captures self-reported moral awareness experienced at the level of the individual tax professional, framed by the concept of ethical awareness as a base level of ethical action (Rest, J., Moral development: Advances in research and theory. Praeger, 1986). We find, inter alia, that spiritual values are understood as personal and are most influential in smaller, more domestic firms and among those still undertaking professional exams, while ethical awareness is lowest among early career professionals in large international firms. The study highlights a disconnect between ethical learning acquired during professional training and its application at the early career stage. Socialisation within the firm adds to the potential for the early-career stage to set the tone for career-long ethical framing. This heightens the responsibility of firms as well as professional bodies to valorise moral judgement.

Assessing the Influence of Different Interest Groups on International Tax Policy: Evidence from the BEPS Project*

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the influence of three interest groups—businesses, the tax profession, and civil society—on tax rules in the context of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Our study is important as prior research has not examined the direct influence of various interest groups on the content of tax rules by means of comment letters. Using content analysis, we seek to explain the lobbying success of the different interest groups by examining the relevance of the kind of information transmitted and the alliance strategies used. Results indicate that lobbying success is mainly explained by the vested interests of the three groups, with businesses less successful than the other two interest groups as long as all interest groups are equally able to provide information. We also find that the lobbying success of businesses increases when proposals require specific expertise. However, bias is still relevant for lobbying success as we find that proposals from tax professionals with practical experience, likely to reflect less bias, are relatively more successful than proposals from businesses. Furthermore, our results suggest that mobilizing commenters who have a shared interest in the form of alliances is a promising lobbying strategy. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of expertise and collective actions for lobbying success.

Examining the Taxation Profession in Australia – A Framework

This paper examines the nature of the taxation profession in Australia and its development over the past three decades and then suggests a framework to analyse important initiatives that have taken place during this period. Using secondary sources and the organizing principles of State, Market and Community (Puxty et al., 1987), we begin with the subject of tax policies and legislation introduced by the state and its impact on the tax profession in Australia. We follow this with a discussion relating to the recognition of Australian tax practice as a profession. The paper then focusses on two key areas of professional development during the last three decades, namely: tax law and tax administration. The paper finds interesting issues relating to professionalization of taxation in Australia. With the involvement of the state, market and the society over the last three decades, there is a requirement to recognise taxation practice as a profession in Australia. The paper suggests that the establishment of the Tax Practitioners Board[1], a statutory body to regulate the taxation profession in Australia, in conjunction with approved professional associations, may have enhanced the effective maintenance of the tax profession which has contributed to social, political and economic development in Australia. [1] The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services appoint the Board, so there is some degree of control by the state.

The effects of personality traits on digital transformation: Evidence from German tax consulting

Digitization is said to strongly disrupt business and professional life. Especially tax consulting has aroused public interest in this respect. Frey and Osborne (2017) even go so far as to predict that tax consulting will become obsolete. Although these statements are misleading without further interpretation, there is no denying the fact that some change in the accounting and tax profession is inevitable. In Germany, however, business digitization currently does not seem to be urgently necessary in the tax consulting field since this profession is protected by law from competition. Thus, by examining the digitization efforts of German tax consultants we are able to exclude almost all effects of outside pressure and therefore take a look at intrinsic motivation. This study focuses on psychological factors and explores the relationship between tax consultants' Big-Five personality and their level of digitization. Personality is measured using the ten-item Big-Five inventory provided by Rammstedt and John (2007). We develop a digital maturity model based on 20 questions relating to digitization in business and tax consulting. After carrying out a factor analysis, five factors are extracted. To interpret our results, we develop two business model transformation indices as well as an overall digitization index. Our analysis is based on a survey of 968 members of the chamber of tax consultants (Steuerberaterkammer) in Munich, Germany. We are able to show that tax consultants scoring high on extraversion and openness to experience and low on neuroticism exhibit a higher level of digitization. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study to discuss intrinsic motivation and digitization in an accounting context. Moreover, an index for digitization as a whole and two business model transformation indices are provided, shedding light upon a hard-to-grasp phenomenon.

Fostering Ethical Professional Identity in Tax: Using the Traditional Tax Classroom

Will a tax lawyer in private practice help taxpayers comply or help taxpayers cheat? Will a government tax lawyer respect or abuse taxpayer rights? Answers to these questions turn, at least in large part, on the lawyer’s ethical professional identity — the lawyer’s philosophy of lawyering, which reflects her values, her sense of responsibility to others, and her self-concept of who she is (and wants to be) as a member of the legal profession. According to recent reports on legal education reform, commentators, and the ABA, law schools must do more to help students develop their ethical professional identities. This is particularly important in tax law, where lawyers’ ethical professional identities can affect compliance and revenue collection, tax morale and taxpayer rights, and the reputation of the tax profession. However, there is a dearth of resources for faculty members who want to leverage their traditional tax classrooms to help future tax lawyers develop their professional identities and learn to exercise professional judgment within the boundaries of the applicable ethical rules. So how can doctrinal faculty members help aspiring tax lawyers develop and implement their professional identities? This article describes exercises for the traditional tax classroom that are intended to (a) enable each student to identify and justify her developing lawyering philosophy, and (b) empower each student to implement her lawyering philosophy in her career. By empowering professors to help their students become more thoughtful, principled tax advisers, this article advances the goal of building a community of ethical tax professionals, both taxpayer-side and government-side, that serves taxpayers well.

Development of Tax Procedural Law and Sectoral Case Law in Selected Countries

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of the Slovenian Tax Procedure Act and amendments thereto until 2017, in order to broaden the field knowledge on tax procedures within the administrative system as a whole. The Tax Procedure Act provides the general framework of the procedural tax system in Slovenia. The first version of the Tax Procedure Act (ZDavP) was adopted in 1996 and followed by five amending acts until the adoption of the second version (ZDavP-1) in 2004. The third and currently applicable version of the Tax Procedure Act (ZDavP-2) has been subject to over ten amendments so far. Furthermore, the study aims to compare the development of tax procedure in Slovenia and Sweden. Based on the normative and comparative analyses, review of domestic and foreign literature, and case law analysis, the advantages and disadvantages of the development of tax procedure in Slovenia were identified. The amendments analysed contributed mainly to simplifying the tax procedure, reducing red tape, decreasing costs, improving the efficiency of the tax authorities, and providing greater legal certainty for the taxpayers. Most changes to the Tax Procedure Act involved the personal income tax. An empirical study of the case law of the Administrative, Supreme and Constitutional Courts in selected period further showed that errors were mainly detected in relation to substantial violation of procedural requirements rather than incorrect application of substantive law. The study contributes to administrative and legal science and the tax profession as such. The results can be useful when drafting new tax procedural legislation to improve its effectiveness.

Working with the Tax Profession

Australia is fortunate to have a tax compliance culture where the majority of taxpayers, many supported by tax professionals, voluntarily comply with their tax obligations. Given the vital role played by the tax profession in influencing levels of voluntary compliance and in facilitating efficient transactions with the Tax Office, it is essential that the tax profession is capable and well regulated. This can best be achieved through an effective commitment between the Tax Office, tax professionals and the Tax Agents' Boards. I see it as a true tripartite arrangement, where each party complements the others.

Lobbying on the BEPS Project? Assessing the Influence of Different Interest Groups

This paper investigates the influence of firms, the tax profession, and civil society on tax legislation in the context of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project against international tax avoidance. Based on content analysis, we simultaneously study two lobbying levers that interest groups can deploy via sending comment letters: taking a position of support or opposition to proposed tax rules and providing individual proposals to modify these rules. The two levers differ in their complexity and thereby the degree of asymmetric information between interest groups and the OECD. Our analysis results in three findings. First, asymmetric information limits civil society’s influence. Second, the tax profession as mediator between firms, society, and the tax authorities is significantly more successful with both lobbying levers than firms. Third, alliances and mobilization of many commenters with shared interests seem to be a promising lobbying strategy for firms.

How Lawyers Dominate: A History of the ABA Tax Section

The story of how tax attorneys came to dominate the fields of tax policy and sophisticated tax practice is the success story of an organized professional association. The prominence of the role of attorneys in the development and practice of the tax law was not a foregone prerequisite of the U.S. federal income tax system. Rather, the professional organization of attorneys into a specialized group within bar associations has played a significant role in making lawyers the central players in tax policy and tax practice in the U.S. The history of the organization of tax lawyers demonstrates the extent to which the organized bar has played a role in “shaping and defining the larger context within which” the tax lawyer operates, and the ways in which the development and rise to power of the organized tax bar has been instrumental as an agent of change within the tax profession.

The Australian Tax Office/Tax Profession Partnership: Lessons from a Pilot Interview Program

The hierarchy of the Australian Tax Office (ATO) presents a picture of the ATO being in a partnership with the tax profession. It is suggested that the relationship is, or should be, one of co-operation with the aim to maximize voluntary compliance with the tax system by taxpayers. Such a model is in contrast to the traditional adversarial model and questions arise as to whether such a relationship is workable. The partnership model presents ethical conflicts, the possibility of regulatory capture and issues of transparency. In any event it is not clear whether the rhetoric of the ATO hierarchy is, in fact, implemented in practice. To test whether a partnership style relationship does exist between the ATO and the profession, the limits of the relationship and how it might be improved, the views of the profession and employees within the ATO need to be considered. With the prospect of an extended interview program a pilot program was conducted interviewing a sample of the profession. The experiences in conducting these interviews are instructive for establishing a methodology for any wider program. Furthermore, the observations of the, admittedly small and arguably unrepresentative, sample provided some evidence that the implementation of the partnership model remains problematic. In particular, observations were made to suggest that current structures within the ATO may inhibit the organisations ability to embrace, at all levels, a partnership style approach. Also, it might be that the profession does not share the same view as to its obligations within the partnership as does the ATO.

Lessons for Tax Administrators in Adopting the OECD's 'Enhanced Relationship' Model Australia's and New Zealand's Experiences

In considering how tax administrators should relate to tax intermediaries, one approach has been to move tax administrators from a command and control posture to a more sophisticated form of regulation, as recently endorsed by the OECD's enhanced model. The tax administrators in Australia and New Zealand have recognized the significance of their relationship with the tax profession in seeking to maximize voluntary compliance. These tax administrators have espoused their relationship with the profession as being a partnership (the partnership model). This article explores the experiences of Australia and New Zealand with the partnership model.

The Tax Section Distinguished Service Award: Twenty Years of History

Established in 1995, the Tax Section’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award (DSA) has been bestowed upon 20 individuals in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to the tax profession and the tax system. I am fortunate to have enjoyed professional and personal relationships with virtually all of these honorees. As a result, I can attest first-hand to the special qualities and accomplishments that prompted their selection, and I welcome this opportunity to review the history of the DSA for the first two decades of its existence.

Partners or Combatants: A Comment on the Australian Tax Office's View of its Relationship with the Tax Advising Profession

The approach to administration of the Australian tax system has, over time, fluctuated between an adversarial and a co-operative approach. Currently, consistent with a move to a responsive regulatory strategy, the Australian Tax Office (“ATO”) has expressed its desire for a co-operative partnership style relationship with the tax advising profession. The profession is seen, in its view, as a critical leverage point to promote voluntary compliance with the tax system by the bulk of taxpayers. The advent of a partnership style relationship between the ATO and the tax profession raises many issues, primary of which is whether the desire to establish this relationship is mere rhetoric employed by both parties in the pursuit of their divergent interests. In fact, the very existence of these opposing interests raises the possibility of ethical conflicts that need to be carefully managed by both parties to the partnership. The ATO is to be commended for the humane and practical way in which the evidence in this case shows its officers dealt with persons who are in difficulties. That attitude indeed probably produces more actual cash into the Treasury than any other approach. It will occur from time to time that some taxpayer will abuse that approach. It may also be that the laws … nowadays operate unfairly against the ATO. I hope that neither of these last two points will operate to change the general attitude. Justice Young in Dean-Willcocks v FCT (2004) NSWSC 1058 10 November 2004) at para 88.

Tax Education: Current Views And Preferences Of South African Employers

Various reasons caused the demand for tax practitioners to increase, creating a need for specialised tax education and training. Since the tax profession is not currently regulated in South Africa, educators receive little input from employers on their expectations regarding formal tax qualifications. This causes uncertainty as to whether or not employers are satisfied with tax education in South Africa. This article reports on the current and preferred composition of tax departments, considering South African employees qualifications. The article also highlights employers current views and preferences regarding theoretical knowledge and practical skills included in these qualifications. Any agreements between the employees current views and preferences are indicated. Data was gathered by using questionnaires and the population on which it was tested comprised partners of the tax departments of certain financial consulting firms. The results show that there is not a fundamental difference between the current and preferred composition of tax departments. There is also evidence that employers preferences regarding theoretical knowledge and practical skills differ from their current views. It is therefore recommended that tax education in South Africa is regulated to ensure that employers can provide input on the curricula included in tax qualifications.

Opinion Statement of the CFE on the Case Law of the European Court of Justice on Transfer Pricing Related to Loans (Decision of 21 January 2010 in Case C-311/08, SGI)

This is an Opinion Statement prepared by the ECJ Task Force Members of the Task Force are: Axel Cordewener, Paul Farmer, Daniel Gutmann, Volker Heydt, Eric Kemmeren, Michael Lang, Franck Le Mentec, Pasquale Pistone, Albert Raedler, Stella Raventos-Calvo (Chair), Isabelle Richelle, Friedrich Roedler and Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho. The views expressed in this statement do not necessarily represent the views of each individual member of the Task Force or of organisations with which any of the members are associated. of the CFE. The CFE is the leading European association of the tax profession with 33 national tax adviser organisations from 24 European countries representing over 180,000 tax advisers.

Opinion Statement of the CFE on Proposed Changes to the Commentary on Art. 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention (Permanent Establishment)

This is an Opinion Statement prepared by the CFE Fiscal Committee. The CFE is the leading European association of the tax profession with 33 national tax adviser organisations from 24 European countries representing over 180,000 tax advisers.

CFE Opinion Statement on the Proposal for a Council Directive on a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB)

This is an Opinion Statement prepared by the Fiscal Committee – Direct Tax Sub-Committee – of the CFE (Confédération Fiscale Européenne). CFE is the umbrella organisation representing the tax profession in Europe. Our membership includes 33 professional organisations from 24 European countries (21 EU Member States) with 180,000 individual members. Our functions are to safeguard the professional interests of tax advisers, to assure the quality of tax services provided by tax advisers, to exchange information about national tax laws and professional law and to contribute to the coordination of tax law in Europe. CFE is registered in the EU Transparency Register (ID 3543183647-05).

Opinion Statement of the CFE on Persons Liable for Payment of VAT to the Tax Authorities regarding Operations Taking Place in One Member State

This is an Opinion Statement prepared by the CFE Fiscal Committee. The CFE is the leading European association of the tax profession with 33 national tax advisory organisations representing over 180,000 tax advisers.