Thesis (S.T.D.)--Catholic University of America, 1944. / "Biographical note": p. 177. Bibliography: p. 165-169.

Taxation and tax evasion is an observable fact that occurs in all societies. In South Africa, tax evasion is one of the most sinister forms of crime and millions of rands are sidetracked by tax criminals. Studies from various countries indicate that it is not unusual for about half of the possible tax revenues to remain uncollected. Tax evasion is not something that is restricted to poor third world countries, it is a global phenomenon that has been there from the time tax was invented and will in all likelihood be with us until the end of time. Tax evasion is an intricate and overall hidden behaviour, but it has significant social and economic consequences. Taking this into consideration almost anything could influence the taxpayer’s decision to evade tax or not. The decision to comply with tax laws or to evade tax depends on various internal and external factors with regard to the taxpayer and this may differ from person to person. This study discusses the various factors influencing the taxpayer’s decision to comply with tax legislation, and whether these factors differ or correlate in developed and developing countries. Firstly, the factors influencing tax evasion in the United States of America and Switzerland were determined, after which the factors influencing tax evasion in South Africa and Brazil were determined. Secondly, the factors in the developed countries were compared to those in developing countries. Lastly these comparisons were analysed and they determined whether there were any major differences between the factors influencing tax evasion in developed and developing countries. AFRIKAANS : Belasting en belastingontduiking is ‘n waarneembare feit wat in alle samelewings voorkom. Belastingontduiking is een van die mees ernstige vorme van misdaad in Suid-Afrika en miljoene rande word deur belastingontduikers gesteel. Studies vanuit verskillende lande dui daarop dat dit nie ongewoon is dat omtrent die helfte van die moontlike belasting- inkomste nie ingevorder word nie. Belastingontduiking is nie beperk tot arm derdewêreldlande nie, dit is 'n wêreldwye verskynsel, en was daar van die tyd dat belasting uitgevind is en sal in alle waarskynlikheid met ons wees tot aan die einde van tyd. Belastingontduiking is 'n ingewikkelde en grootliks verborge gedrag, maar dit het belangrike sosiale en ekonomiese gevolge. Met dit ingedagte kan byna enigiets die belastingbetaler se besluit beïnvloed om belasting te ontduik of nie. Die besluit om aan belastingwetgewing te voldoen of om belasting te ontduik hang af van verskeie interne en eksterne faktore met betrekking tot die belastingbetaler en verskil waarskynlik van persoon tot persoon. Hierdie studie bespreek die verskillende faktore wat die belastingbetaler se besluit om aan belastingwetgewing te voldoen beïnvloed, en of hierdie faktore verskil of korreleer tussen ontwikkelde en ontwikkelende lande. Eerstens was die doel van die studie om die faktore wat belastingontduiking in die Verenigde State van Amerika en Switserland beïnvloed te bepaal, gevolg deur die bepaling van die faktore wat belastingontduiking in Suid-Afrika en Brasilië beïnvloed. Tweedens is die faktore in ontwikkelde lande met dié in ontwikkelende lande vergelyk. Laastens is hierdie vergelykings ontleed om te bepaal of daar groot verskille is tussen die faktore wat belastingontduiking beïnvloed in ontwikkelde lande in vergelyking met ontwikkelende lande. Copyright 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Venter, JH 2011, Factors influencing tax evasion, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03062012-153138 / > F12/4/149/gm / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Taxation / unrestricted

Tax agencies spend a lot of resources in overseeing tax evasion, without truly knowing what the effect on compliance is. The research area concerning the effects of audits is understudied, however more knowledge exists concerning the impact on individuals rather than on the impact on firms. The objective of this thesis is to examine the plausible behavioural changes among Swedish firms due to audits. The thesis is based on firms’ own reported VAT returns; it is their own behavioural change that is estimated, and not an involuntary change due to enforced payments or fines. The visible effects are solely due to the firm’s awareness of the supervision of the Swedish Tax Agency. The results, from a fixed effects regression, indicate that the audit do affect the firms’ level of compliance. The probability of an increased reported turnover is significant both at the extensive margin but also at other intervals. For the input VAT effects can be observed at several intervals, however not at the extensive margin.

This paper investigates the determinants of informality (tax evasion in particular) utilizing rich cross-country data of firm-level survey from the World Bank, and hypothesizing that competition is a significant factor determining tax evasion behaviors. Competition pressure is a key stimulus to induce questionable manipulations of tax reporting behaviors. However its effect works at a decreasing speed. It is also hypothesized that business obstacles facing firms such as tax administration and corruption play significant roles in explaining tax evasion. This paper further hypothesizes that firm characteristics such as size, age, ownership are important evasion determinants. Empirical results are found supporting these hypotheses above. The analysis controls for country-level effects, for instance the quality of the legal environment. Industry sectors are also controlled and found significant in explaining corporate tax evasion levels.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) around the globe commonly use cross-border related-party transactions (CRPTs) to shift profits from high tax jurisdictions to low ones to avoid paying taxes. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and G20 countries launched the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plans in 2013 to constrain tax avoidance behaviors of MNCs, particularly the widespread use of CRPTs. This study examines how the localization of the BEPS Action Plans affects the tax avoidance behavior of MNCs in China. Using all the listed non-financial MNCs on the Stock Exchanges in China from 2012 to 2017, I find that: (1) Chinese MNCs with more CRPTs are more likely to pay less taxes than those with less CRPTs. Localization of the BEPS Action Plans does not have significant impact on this behavior. (2) The effect of localization of BEPS Action Plans to constrain corporate tax avoidance is more pronounced on MNCs with relatively poor information quality in the pre-location period; (3) local government-controlled firms (LG firms) with more CRPTs engage in more tax avoidance, but localization of the BEPS Action Plans significantly constrains tax avoidance activities by these firms in the post-location period. These findings should shed light on what mechanisms could constrain MNCs’ tax avoidance, especially income shifting through CRPTs, and how it could be affected by tightening of the tax laws on tax avoidance activities and by ownership structure in a developing country setting, in particular.

Is tax evasion political? How do fiscal politics change when a substantial share of taxpayers decide to shirk on their fiscal burden? In the economics literature, a well-established tradition of work has investigated the behavioral and institutional determinants of taxpaying, informing polices on how to improve compliance. However, existing work has remained conspicuously silent on the political fallout from tax noncompliance. The projects in this dissertation begin filling this gap. In the first paper, I turn to local tax politics and ask when local officials are better able to handle subnational taxation in a high-evasion environment. Exploring the Italian case, I show that mayors born in the town are better suited for tax governance, increasing enforcement, tax rates, and revenue. In my second project, I move to national tax politics and investigate the impact of information about tax cheating by the rich on public preferences for taxing the rich. Leveraging an original survey experiment conducted in Italy, I document a negative impact of perceived cheating by the rich on demand for tax progressivity. Finally, in the third study, I flip the question and ask whether tax enforcement can impact revealed public preference for redistribution. With three empirical case studies in Italy, Slovakia, and Australia, I argue and provide evidence for a twin dynamic. When enforcement is successful and popular, individuals display greater propensity for redistribution. This is the case in Italy, where an electorally-popular crackdown on property-tax evasion causes increases in donations to local public-benefit non-profit initiatives. By contrast, when enforcement is not perceived as successful or causes backlash by taxpayers, I document opposite reaction. In Slovakia, where enforcement is not perceived as credible, publicized audits against local businesses lead to decreases in local charitable donations. Similarly, in Australia, crackdowns against tax-avoidance schemes in the summer of 1998 caused widespread protests and led to electoral shifts in favor of a regressive tax reform in the October 1998 election. Taken together, the findings of this dissertation conclusively demonstrate that tax evasion is indeed political. Enforcement and noncompliance at both national and subnational level have deep political roots and implications for the broader politics of the fiscal contract, potentially upholding or stymieing the prospects of redistribution.

Tax evasion is one of the world's societal problems, which annually contributes to distorted competition when large tax amounts disappear from welfares. High-income earners and companies have managed to minimize tax expenditures through systematic applications, which has been revealed recently by elements such as Panama Papers, Luxleaks and Swissleaks. Previous studies have highlighted a problem that clear boundaries between tax planning and tax evasion do not exist. Whether or not which tax techniques and methods that are compatible with the law has been expressed as a difficulty in understanding the profession of accountants but also in professions such as tax advisers and accounting consultants. The purpose of the study was to investigate how auditors handle the issues regarding the gray zones between tax planning and tax evasion. The study's intention was to review previous legal cases and companies' audit reports to see how auditors have acted and how the court assessed complex legal cases, which were then supplemented with an interview study. This because when reviewing the cases, attention was drawn to the results that led us to interviews in order to take part in the auditor's perspective on the matter. The study was based on a qualitative research method where the results showed that auditors should consult more complex tax procedures with other auditors and tax lawyers to avoid legal consequences. The results further showed how important it is for auditors to keep constantly updated by legislation and regulations as these tend to change over time. The result also showed that auditors should act restrictively and judiciously and have a strict attitude in their working methods for minimizing undesirable situations where irregularities can occur. Auditors must also have a well-designed audit plan to avoid the risk of material errors slipping through the audit.

Σύμφωνα με έρευνες που πραγματοποιήθηκαν τα τελευταία χρόνια, παρατηρείται μια αύξηση της φοροδιαφυγής όχι μόνο σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο αλλά και στον ελληνικό χώρο. Το γεγονός αυτό δείχνει τη δυσαρέσκεια και τη δυσκολία των εταιριών να ανταπεξέλθουν στους υπάρχοντες φορολογικούς νόμους αλλά και την επιδίωξης τους να αυξήσουν τα κέρδη τους με όχι νόμιμο όμως τρόπο. Στην παρούσα εργασία γίνεται ανάλυση του φορολογικού συστήματος στην Ελλάδα και των κινήτρων που ωθούν τις επιχειρήσεις στη φοροδιαφυγή, ενώ διερευνάται η σχέση ανάμεσα στους φορολογικούς ελέγχους χρήσεως και σε άλλα στοιχεία χρηματοοικονομικών καταστάσεων των εταιριών. Βασιζόμενοι σε εμπειρική έρευνα σε ευρύ δείγμα επιχειρήσεων για την τριετία 2008-2010 οδηγούμαστε στο συμπέρασμα ότι το ύψος της φοροδιαφυγής που επικρατεί στην Ελλάδα έχει μεγάλες διαστάσεις και συνδέεται με συγκεκριμένα εταιρικά χαρακτηριστικά. / According to surveys carried out in recent years, there is an increase in tax evasion not only globally but also in the Greek area. This indicates dissatisfaction and difficulty for companies to cope in existing tax laws and the pursuit to increase their profits with no legitimate way though.

This thesis deals with the legal aspects of the fight against tax evasion with a particular focus on current legal instruments within the Czech legal order. The thesis is divided into five parts. The first part of the thesis defines the concept of tax evasion, compares the concepts of tax avoidance and tax evasion in the foreign literature. The term tax evasion does not have a legal definition in the Czech legal order and different views of the meaning of this term can be found. This thesis works with tax evasion as an illegal arrangement aiming at minimizing one's tax liability, as well as acting towards circumventing tax legislation. The second part also summarizes the knowledge about BEPS and its influence on the state budget, competition and society. The third part is devoted to selected specific legal instruments in the fight against BEPS, namely the institute of abuse of law, transfer pricing rules, low capitalization, international cooperation and double tax treaties. These tools are described in detail and their current form is analyzed. The work also expresses the author's personal opinion on these tools, which he considers to be very conservative. Similarly, the instruments introduced into the Czech legal system with the implementation of the ATAD Directive are analyzed. The last part of...

Abstract The South African Revenue Service (‘SARS’) and National Treasury has in the recent past identified various areas of tax in which taxpayers have been avoiding tax by arranging their affairs in a certain way. An area which SARS and National Treasury sees as being a danger to the South African tax base is the utilisation of trusts by individuals. This was made evident in the 2013 National Budget Speech by way of a passing high-level comment on how SARS proposes to mitigate the risk that trusts pose to the South African tax base. This research evaluates whether trusts do in fact pose a valid risk to erode the tax base and whether they are as ‘deadly’ as they are made out to be. A discussion of the taxation of local trusts is included in this paper and it continues by analysing the various antiavoidance provisions contained in the Income Tax Act. In addition, this paper discusses the proposed amendments to be made to the current tax regime as well as the revised tax return format for trusts and the supposed purpose thereof. The paper concludes on the validity of the concern raised by both SARS and National Treasury in respect of trusts being used as vehicles to erode the South African tax base.