The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Chinese Business and Economics Students

17 Pages Posted: 13 Dec 2005

See all articles by Robert W. McGee

Robert W. McGee

Fayetteville State University - Department of Accounting

An Yuhua

University of International Business and Economics

Date Written: February 4, 2006

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.

This paper begins with a review of the literature and identifies the main issues and summarizes the three main viewpoints that have emerged over the centuries. It then reports on the results of a survey of Chinese business and economics students who were asked their opinions on the ethics of tax evasion. The survey consisted of 15 statements, representing the 15 issues and 3 viewpoints that have emerged over the centuries. Participants were asked to signify the extent of their agreement with each statement by placing a number from 1 to 7 in the space provided. One hundred and seventy-three (173) usable responses were received. The data were then analyzed to determine which of the three viewpoints was dominant among the sample population. Male scores were also compared to female scores to determine if the responses differed by gender.

Keywords: tax evasion, evade, China

JEL Classification: H22, H24. H25, H26, E62, O17, D63, M41, P21

Suggested Citation

McGee, Robert W. and Yuhua, An, The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Chinese Business and Economics Students (February 4, 2006). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=869280 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.869280

Robert W. McGee (Contact Author)

Fayetteville State University - Department of Accounting ( email )

Fayetteville, NC 28301
United States

HOME PAGE: http://robertwmcgee.com

An Yuhua

University of International Business and Economics ( email )

Beijing
China

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
358
Abstract Views
4,292
Rank
152,326
PlumX Metrics