Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Technology: Taxation, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / South Africa has seen tremendous changes since 1994, from the introduction of a new government to structural changes in tax administration; one of the challenges the government faced in the new democracy, was the restructuring of the tax system. Multiple tax amnesty programs were thus introduced between 1995 and 2010 to provide immunity for limited periods to citizens and small businesses for past non-compliance without being subjected to additional tax, interest, penalties or prosecution. Although extensive research conducted abroad has illustrated the potential problems and complexities that could arise from multiple amnesties, very little research has been conducted in South Africa to evaluate the viability of offering repeated amnesties. The emphasis in this study was therefore on the Small Business Tax Amnesty of 2006, and its primary purpose was to explore the effects that multiple tax amnesties have on compliance and whether it is possible for tax compliance to improve if further tax amnesties are introduced. This study used a quantitative research approach to gather data from 146 respondents from an Audit firm database containing information about taxpayers qualifying as small business who applied for amnesty and taxpayers that did not apply for amnesty between 1 August and 30 June 2007. Analysis of the data revealed that tax amnesties in South Africa should not be offered on a frequent basis to non-compliant taxpayers as it causes non-compliant taxpayers to anticipate further amnesties which could impact negatively on tax compliance as a whole. The findings also indicated that educating taxpayers about tax issues could result in better tax compliance thus contributing to the development of a fair and equitable society. Based on the findings, this study makes recommendations to government, the tax authority and policy makers regarding the effects of multiple tax amnesties.

This paper uses micro-level data from a nationally representative survey of 22,000 individuals in 14 Eastern European countries to investigate the effects of institutional, social, and individual factors on taxpayers' perceptions of power, motivations to comply, and non-compliant behaviors. The results indicate that institutional, social, and individual aspects shape taxpayer behavior: attitudes of peers, individual compliance norms, and the tax burden impact on non-compliance. Moreover, I find several effects of the subjective appraisal of the interaction with tax administrations. Positive experiences strengthen perceptions of power and intrinsic motivations to comply. They also increase the propensity to report non-compliant behavior in the past, suggesting educational effects of taxpayer services and tax audits. (author's abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specialising in Taxation). Johannesburg, 25 March 2015 / The research reviews the legislation pertaining to the understatement penalty provisions of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011. The problems associated with the levying of understatement penalties in the previous legislation are determined. A detailed evaluation is made of the understatement penalty provisions, with an emphasis on the determinants for the ‘behaviour’ and ‘case’ types, and the penalty percentages derived therefrom. The fiscus’s stated goals and intentions in respect of the understatement penalties are identified and reviewed to determine if they are aligned with those considered to be international best practice. The requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 are reviewed with respect to the understatement penalties. A comparative analysis of South Africa’s understatement penalties and those of tax authorities identified as having similar tax administration regimes is presented. The research suggests that while a more systematic and uniform approach, to understatement penalties, has been established under the new legislation, the subjective nature of the ‘behaviour’ and ‘case’ determinants applied is likely to result in disputes between the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the taxpayer. The research indicates that while the categories and nature of understatement penalties levied are broadly aligned with those of comparable countries’ regimes, the penalty percentages applied in South Africa, are relatively high. Key words and terms: understatement penalties, international best practice, goals, uniform, systematic, ‘behaviour’, ‘case’, subjective, similar tax administration regimes, penalty percentages. / MT2016

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:21:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Hisashi Toyoda.pdf: 1348025 bytes, checksum: dc83166070c6c3230348677b68e34be8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-16 / This work considers the supraconstitucionality as an innovative way, essential, to maximize the effectiveness of human rights of the taxpayer, given its vulnerability to the fiscal voracity and state strategies for purposive strictly collection. The general aim was to investigate how these rights can be materialized in the field of relations mediated by the exercise of state power to tax, taking for granted the applicability of the supraconstitucionality of international human rights treaties. Its specific objectives were to delineate the path of thinking about state power and the political-legal inflections for relations between the state and individuals subject to it; discourse on asymmetrical power relations between state and citizen taxpayers weakening their rights; provide foundational bases of international recognition of human rights and protective densification achieved through the construction of a supraconstitucional way for their assurence and effectiveness derived from international treaties; demonstrate how the adoption of supraconstitucionality can ensure greater effectiveness of human rights of the Brazilian citizen taxpayer. The research shows that the state, establishing itself as a peculiar entity to individuals and society, in spite of a historical process of change in the design and form of power exercise, has exhausted from sovereignty its strength unchallenged towards individuals. Although this is still a paradigm in the existence of the State, and reference to the exercise of the taxing power, the most recent scenario has put in evidence its deconstruction, owing to the development of defense mechanisms and implementation of human rights that do not take into account the territoriality as space of execution of law. In its most advanced expression, the European Community law has managed to achieve important victories, revealing the role and contribution of the increasing application of international human rights treaties for maximum satisfaction of the rights of the taxpayer. Abandons the idea of citizenship in terms of bonding to the state, and sets up a new condition for the taxpayer, as a subject of international law. The definition of an extraterritorial jurisdiction space allows the extension of the protection field of human rights, with new alternatives for access to judicial protection, which is indispensable because of the strategies and mechanisms surreptitious utilized by state for convenience only and efficiency of tax collection, threat that has not been adequately pushed by the internal mechanisms of jurisdiction in dealing with the human rights of the taxpayer / Este trabalho considera a supraconstitucionalidade como via inovadora, e indispensável, para maximizar a efetividade dos direitos humanos do contribuinte, considerando a sua vulnerabilidade frente à voracidade fiscal e às estratégias estatais de finalística estritamente arrecadatória. Teve como objetivo geral investigar como esses direitos podem ser materializados no campo das relações mediadas pelo exercício estatal do poder de tributar, tomando-se como pressuposto a aplicabilidade da supraconstitucionalidade dos tratados internacionais de direitos humanos. Seus objetivos específicos foram delinear o percurso do pensamento sobre o poder estatal e as inflexões político-jurídicas para as relações entre o Estado e os indivíduos a ele sujeitos; diiscorrer sobre as relações assimétricas de poder entre o Estado e o cidadão contribuinte vulnerando seus direitos; apresentar as bases fundantes do reconhecimento internacional dos direitos humanos e o adensamento protetivo alcançado por meio da construção de uma via supraconstitucional para a sua garantia e efetividade derivada dos tratados internacionais; demonstrar como a adoção da supraconstitucionalidade pode assegurar a maior efetividade dos direitos humanos do cidadão contribuinte brasileiro. A pesquisa demonstra que o Estado, firmando-se como ente peculiar frente aos indivíduos e à sociedade, a despeito de um processo histórico de mudanças na concepção e na forma de exercídio do poder, tem exaurido da soberania a sua força inconteste perante os indivíduos. Embora esta ainda seja um paradigma na existência do Estado, e referência para o exercício do poder de tributar, o cenário mais recente tem colocado em evidência a sua desconstrução, em razão do desenvolvimento de mecanismos de defesa e concretização dos direitos humanos que não levam em conta a territorialidade como espaço de atuação do Direito. Em sua expressão mais avançada, o direito comunitário europeu tem logrado alcançar importantes conquistas, revelando o papel e a contribuição crescente da aplicação dos tratados internacionais de direitos humanos para a máxima satisfatividade dos direitos do contribuinte. Abandona-se a idéia de cidadania em termos de vinculação ao Estado, e define-se uma nova condição para o contribuinte, como sujeito do Direito Internacional. A definição de um espaço jurisdicional extraterritorial permite o alargamento do campo de proteção dos direitos humanos, com novas alternativas de acesso à tutela judicial, o que é indispensável em razão das estratégias e dos mecanismos sub-reptícios utilizados pelo Estado tendo em vista unicamente a praticidade fiscal e a eficiência da arrecadação, ameaça que não tem sido adequadamente afastada pelos mecanismos internos de jurisdição no trato dos direitos humanos do contribuinte

This study explores the impact of complexity upon unintentional non-compliance behaviour for personal taxpayers in Australia. This area of research did not appear to have been previously studied in an Australian context and in this respect, the study represents an original contribution. While studies have been conducted both in Australia and overseas, they have generally been directed at other types of compliance behaviour and tend to be inconclusive in their findings. According to the compliance literature, there appeared to be little consensus of opinion on the factors that determined behaviour and appropriate research methods. It emerged that more narrowly-defined studies with stronger research methods offered potential for furthering knowledge in this field. Thus the study focused on one behavioural outcome and one type of taxpayer, using a multi-paradigm research method. Unintentional non-compliance, as an outcome, was selected as it appeared to hold promise for improvements in overall compliance to be readily made, provided its causes were understood. Complexity was considered to be the most likely cause of unintentional non-compliance, and those who prepared their own income tax return, the group likely to be most affected. The study used both a quantitative and qualitative component from which a number of convergent results emerged. These included that the major cause of complexity was the ambiguity of tax laws and the volume of explanatory material required. Further, personal taxpayers were committed to compliance even though they regarded the system as less than fair. Together, complexity and commitment to compliance caused taxpayers to experience unnecessary compliance costs. Where taxpayers completed their own return, complexity resulted in a high level of errors that generally resulted in an overstatement of tax liability. In addition, some taxpayers chose to be over-compliant as a means of dealing with complexity and commitment. It was concluded that complexity compromised the integrity of the Australian income tax system by imposing an unfair burden on personal taxpayers in respect of both tax paid and compliance costs incurred. However, there appeared to be little, if any, financial incentive for the tax authority to address the causes of complexity for personal taxpayers.

The thesis studies the execution of the protection of taxpayer rights by local tax bureaus. By having Ming-shen Wang¡¦s The Integrated Framework for Public Affairs Management (2006) as theory basis, the key issue about safeguarding taxpayer rights is analyzed. This thesis applies V.C.S. Strategic Triangle introduced by Mark H. Moore (1995) to define three dimensions, namely, value, capacity, and support, and takes the public service values of tax officials into consideration. This thesis has conducted in-depth interviews and retrieved 367 pieces of valid questionnaires from local tax officials in southern and northern Taiwan. The thesis discovers that the public service values of tax officials incline to proficiency, responsibility, and fairness, emphasizing more on work performance than democratic administration. Most of the tax officials agree on the conceptions of value, capacity, and support of safeguarding taxpayer rights, and those conceptions are not affected by different public service values. On the conception of value, tax officials believe that substantive taxation adhering to fairness and justice can truly safeguard taxpayer rights. Tax officials at basic level believe safeguarding taxpayer rights will affect work efficiency and tax income. Considering the aspect of capability, tax officials think that they have sufficient competence and attitude to ensure taxpayer rights. They attribute the difficulties in practice to the deficient tax system. Safeguarding taxpayer right will increase workload, and moreover, the efforts are not sufficiently reflected in annual performance assessment scores. On the aspect of support, tax officials agree on protecting tax payer rights but require more understanding in its content, and they feel the public do not see the efforts of tax administrations to safeguard their rights. This thesis makes four suggestions: first, tax officials shall modify their concepts of public service values; second, administrations shall train the officials to help taxpayers with empathy; third, performance assessment shall be conducted with Balanced Scorecard and V.C.S. Strategic Triangle; fourth, tax reform shall be continued, in order to fulfill fairness and justice in taxation.

Currently two direct control forms of taxpayers - the taxable investigation and taxable inspection - are applied in Lithuania. How the taxpayers calculate, declare and pay taxes is analyzed and verified during the taxable investigation and taxable inspection. During the taxable investigation is determined whether the taxable inspection will be laid or not. Taxable investigation and taxable inspection are two different forms of taxable control. The taxable inspection is more formal and stricter procedure where the tax administrator follows the law and verifies the correctness of calculated, declared and paid taxes. When law violations are determined, the additional taxes and economical sanctions will be applied. The taxable investigation is the supervision and analysis of taxpayers’ activity, as well collection of additional information, related with the activity of the taxpayer.

Šiame darbe nagrinėjami Lietuvos Respublikos mokesčių administravimo įstatymas ir Lietuvos Respublikos valstybinio socialinio draudimo įstatymas numato ne vieną mokesčių mokėtojo teisę. Naujo šių įstatymų teisinio reglamentavimo ypatumai sąlygoja tam tikrų mokesčių mokėtojo teisių gynimo ne ginčo tvarka analizės poreikį. 2005 m. sausio 1 d. įsigaliojo naujoji Sodros įstatymo redakcija, kurios 16 straipsnio 7 dalis įtvirtino mokesčių mokėtojo teisę remtis priverstinio išieškojimo senaties terminu. Mokesčių administravimo įstatymas, galiojant skirtingoms redakcijoms, skirtingai reglamentavo teisę remtis priverstinio išieškojimo senaties terminu. Atsižvelgiant į tai, kad pastaruoju metu mokesčių teisei didelę įtaką daro privatinė teisė, konkrečiau – civilinės teisės šaka, dalis šios teisės institutų yra perkeliama į mokestinius teisinius santykius. Dėl mokesčių mokėtojo teisių gynimo ne ginčo tvarka ne kartą pasisakė Lietuvos Vyriausiasis Administracinis teismas, tačiau bylų, kuriose būtų apginta mokesčių mokėtojo teisė praktikoje labai maža, o tam tikrais atvejais – visiškai nėra. Tačiau tokių bylų gausa rodo, jog mokestinius teisinius santykius reglamentuojantys teisės aktai, o ypatingai – tam tikras mokesčių mokėtojo teises, yra neaiškūs, dviprasmiški, ir toli gražu nėra aiškinami mokesčių mokėtojo naudai (Mokesčių administravimo įstatymo 3 str.). / The Taxing Administration and Public Social Insurance laws of the Lithuanian Republic studied in the present work provide for some rights of the taxpayer. The new juridical regulation of these laws conditions the need for the analysis of the defence of some taxpayer’s rights without litigation. The new wording of the Public Social Insurance Law, where p. 7 of Article 16 sets the taxpayer’s right to appeal to the forced exaction limit, came into effect on 1st January 2005. The Taxing Administration Law with various effectual wordings differently regulated the right to appeal to the forced exaction limit. Considering the fact that at present the private law greatly influences the taxing law, specifically the civil law, some part of the institutes of this law is transferred to the legal taxing relations. The Lithuanian General Administration Court gave its voice for advocacy of the taxpayer’s rights without litigation more than once, however, there are very few lawsuits in practice with the defended taxpayer’s right and in some cases there are no such ones at all. But abundance of such lawsuits shows that the legal acts regulating the taxing juridical relations and especially those regulating some taxpayer’s rights seem to be indefinite and ambiguous, and they are not interpreted for the benefit of the taxpayers (Article 3 of the Taxing Administration Law). Work theme: Defention of taxpayer‘s right without litigation.

The increasing level of non-compliance with payment demands for local property taxes by Malaysian local authority taxpayers over the past decade has given rise to the need to study the efficiency and productivity of the tax administration system a high priority. This important and sensitive issue has not been given the attention that it deserves. Little empirical research on the administration of, and voluntary compliance in, the Malaysian local taxation system been undertaken and this has shaped the motivation for this study, which represents the first detailed analysis of these issues. Studies on taxpayer compliance behaviour primarily centre on the income tax system and are mainly based on two models. Firstly, the financial self-interest model and secondly, a model that not only includes economic variables, but also other variables such as demographic, noncompliance opportunities, attitudes and perceptions of taxpayers and the structure of the tax system. The model designed in this work builds on this latter concept to include two further variables - namely quality of service and financial information. Two aspects of 'assessment tax 1 collection in Malaysian local authorities are explored in detail. These are, the efficiency and productivity of the assessment tax administration system, and assessment taxpayer compliance behaviour in a sample of Malaysian local authorities. The results of this study indicate that there is a significant difference in terms of the efficiency and productivity of the assessment tax administrative systems between local authorities. The study demonstrates that authorities with high collection performance are more efficient and productive when compared to authorities with medium and low tax collection performances. In general, many of the factors identified with efficiency and effectiveness of the assessment tax administration are consistent with the attributes found in the income tax system. In addition, new factors associated with a high-commitment work system approach (Beer ef a/., (1984) and Walton (1985)) are used in the study to explain the performance of local authorities with high tax collection rates. No previous study has combined all aspects of the above variables in investigating the efficiency and productivity of local tax administration systems. The findings support the model of taxpayer compliance behaviour designed in this work. These indicate that taxpayers in local authorities with high tax collection performance have positive perceptions towards the items listed in the model. In addition, importantly, the majority of the respondents to this study perceived that the presence of financial information might influence their compliance behaviour toward assessment tax. This research has revealed that the attributes of local authorities with high collection performance correspond to earlier studies based on income tax systems. In addition, however, the findings highlight the importance of such factors as the quality of service delivery to taxpayers and work system design in motivating employees to collect local tax revenues. Furthermore, it provides strategic information to all parties involved in the local taxation collection process, especially those local authorities, which are currently confronted with high levels of uncollected assessment tax revenue. Specifically the research has significant implications for the role of government in Malaysia (especially state government) in monitoring assessment tax systems, the work of local authorities and implications for taxpayers' voluntary compliance behaviour. This work is expected to make a significant contribution towards building a unified efficient theory of local taxpayer compliance.