Attitudes Toward Tax Evasion in Sub-Saharan Africa
17 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2023 Publication Status: Preprint
Abstract
The aim of the article is to analyze the approach to tax evasion in the Sub-Saharan region. The hypothesis that the studied phenomenon occurs on a different scale in the countries under study and that it is influenced by demographic, economic and cultural factors is being tested. Data from the World Values Survey (WVS) for Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe were analyzed to determine the level of justification of tax evasion in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The main variable for determining the attitudes toward tax evasion is measured through the following statement “Cheating on taxes if you have the chance,” where 1 = never justified and 10 = always justified. People in Ethiopia reported the lowest tolerance for tax evasion. Respondents in Zimbabwe were the most tolerant of tax evasion.Gender was found not to be a significant demographic variable. However, younger people were more likely to justify tax evasion than older people. The higher the income was, the stronger the opposition towards tax evasion. However, the differences in mean score were not significantly different. The same result was found for the level of education.
Surprisingly, respondents with the highest level of trust in government justified tax evasion the most. The religious denomination was a determinant of tax evasion. Those with no religious denomination reported highest acceptance of tax evasion. Ethnicity was also a factor that affects the view toward tax evasion.The added value of the article is related to the study of countries in the light of the region to which they belong, based on the latest data related to the WVS database. Thanks to the obtained results, it is possible to develop a theory related to the efficiency of tax systems.
Keywords: tax evasion, tax morale, ethics, survey, demographic, gender
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