South African taxpayers currently consult either accountants (i.e., non-legal tax practitioners) or attorneys (i.e., legal tax practitioners) in order to acquire tax advice. The qualitative approach adopted in carrying out this study entails the examination of the differing rights applicable to a taxpayer depending on which adviser he decides to approach for tax advice. The concept of legal professional privilege is a common law right which has only ever been applicable to members of the legal profession. However, due to the recent regulation of tax practitioners and the modernisation of the way taxpayers conduct their financial affairs in approaching both attorneys and accountants for tax advice it seems appropriate that this privilege should be extended beyond the legal profession. Upon consideration of the history and requirements of this privilege it is determined that this privilege is amenable to extension. Constitutional principles, with regard to the right to privacy and the right to equality in relation to the taxpayer obtaining the tax advice, are infringed as a result of the limitation imposed whereby only tax advice obtained from an attorney is protected. Lastly, the current legislative stances adopted by foreign jurisdictions, that currently permit or are considering permitting legal professional privilege to apply to tax advice obtained from non-legal tax practitioners illustrate that there is a global movement toward removing the current restrictions on this principle. This has been accomplished by countries such as the United States of America and New Zealand by way of introduction of statutory provisions that allow for tax advice issued by non-legal tax practitioners to be protected from disclosure to the revenue authorities in the respective countries. Based on the research conducted it is concluded that South Africa should therefore follow suit and create a separate statutory provision to protect tax advice obtained from non-legal tax practitioners. / Dissertation (Mcom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Taxation / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of interactions with IRS employees on tax practitioners' attitudes toward the IRS. The mission of the IRS is to inspire the highest degree of public confidence as it collects the proper amount of tax revenues at the least cost to the public. The IRS believes it must project a favorable image to tax practitioners in order to foster a high level of support for its mission. Prior surveys of tax practitioners found that practitioners have generally unfavorable attitudes toward the IRS and its employees. This study examined whether the unfavorable attitudes result from interactions with IRS employees, and provides empirical evidence of the effects of interactions with IRS employees on tax practitioners' attitudes toward the IRS.

All over the world, firms and governments are increasingly concerned about the rise in tax complexity. To manage it and develop effective simplification measures, detailed information on the current drivers of complexity is required. However, research on this topic is scarce. This is surprising as the latest developments - for example, triggered by the BEPS project - give rise to the conjecture that complexity drivers may have changed, thus questioning the findings of prior studies. In this paper, we shed light on this issue and provide a global picture of the current drivers of tax complexity that multinational corporations face based on a survey of 221 highly experienced tax practitioners from 108 countries. Our results show that prior complexity drivers of the tax code are still relevant, with details and changes of tax regulations being the two most influential complexity drivers. We also find evidence for new relevant complexity drivers emerging from different areas of the tax framework, such as inconsistent decisions among tax officers (tax audits) or retroactively applied tax law amendments (tax enactment). Based on the responses of the practitioners, we develop a concept of tax complexity that distinguishes two pillars, tax code and tax framework complexity, and illustrates the various aspects that should be considered when assessing the complexity of a country's tax system. / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

The relationship between taxpayers and tax practitioners is complex, as many diverse aspects shape their interaction. This explains why taxpayers and tax practitioners hold different expectations regarding tax services, leading to an expectation gap between taxpayers and tax practitioners. The primary objective of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the factors that contribute to the expectation gap between taxpayers and tax practitioners in South Africa. To achieve this primary objective, the Interactive Qualitative Analysis process was used as a research method to identify the factors that contribute to the expectation gap. Data were collected from four different South African focus groups, namely taxpayers, and three separate groups of different types of tax practitioners. Affinities were generated for each focus group, and possible cause-and-effect relations amongst the affinities were established using theoretical coding. A systems influence diagram was subsequently generated for each group to represent the entire system of influences and outcomes based on the perceptions of that focus group. Meta-themes relating to the key factors were identified by means of a thematic analysis of the affinities in a second coding cycle. These meta-themes led to the development of a conceptual framework of associations that describes the interactive nature of the expectation gap between taxpayers and their tax practitioners. Based on these associations, propositions were generated, and mechanisms and interventions regarding the roles of different groups in reducing the gap were suggested. A model for reducing the expectation gap was also proposed, based on the main themes that emanated from this study. The overarching theme is communication between taxpayers and their tax practitioners. This theme relates to the remaining six themes. These are capability of taxpayers and tax practitioners, clarity on the nature and scope of tax service, transparency on the fee structure of a tax service, external influences on taxpayers, the collecting agent’s systems and processes and finally incompatible compliance behaviour attitudes between taxpayers and tax practitioners. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Taxation / unrestricted