The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Comparative Study of Taiwan and the USA

18 Pages Posted: 3 May 2007

See all articles by Robert W. McGee

Robert W. McGee

Fayetteville State University - Department of Accounting

Susana N. Vittadini Andres

Tamkang University

Date Written: May 2007

Abstract

The ethics of tax evasion has been discussed sporadically in the theological and philosophical literature for at least 500 years. Martin Crowe wrote a doctoral thesis that reviewed much of that literature in 1944. The debate revolved around about 15 issues. Over the centuries, three main views evolved on the topic. But the business ethics literature has paid scant attention to this issue, perhaps because of the belief that tax evasion is always unethical.

This paper reports the results of a survey of students in Taiwan and the USA. The arguments that have been made over the centuries to justify tax evasion were ranked to determine which arguments are strongest and which are weakest. Male scores were compared to female scores to determine whether the responses differed by gender.

Keywords: ethics, tax evasion, Taiwan, USA, China, gender

JEL Classification: D6, H26, E62, J16, K34, K42, M14, M4, O53, O51

Suggested Citation

McGee, Robert W. and Vittadini Andres, Susana N., The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Comparative Study of Taiwan and the USA (May 2007). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=984047 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.984047

Robert W. McGee (Contact Author)

Fayetteville State University - Department of Accounting ( email )

Fayetteville, NC 28301
United States

HOME PAGE: http://robertwmcgee.com

Susana N. Vittadini Andres

Tamkang University ( email )

No.151, Yingzhuan Rd
Taiwan, Taipei Hsien 25137
China

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