Taxpayers worldwide make use of tax practitioners to handle their tax matters for them. In South Africa, taxpayers also use tax practitioners to handle their tax matters. The use of tax practitioners and their services in South Africa is on the rise due to various factors. The resulting relationship between taxpayers and tax practitioners was the subject of this study. The taxpayer has certain expectations when using the services of a tax practitioner. These expectations can be linked to various factors identified in numerous studies of taxpayer-tax practitioner relations. The factors identified in this study were client motivation, client advocacy, tax minimisation as well as changes in legislation. Taxpayer expectations regarding these factors were examined. The perceptions of tax practitioners about these taxpayer expectations were also examined. The possibility of a gap between the expectations of the taxpayer and the perceptions of the tax practitioner of these expectations has been identified in other studies around the world. The possibility of such a gap exists in a South African context. This study aimed to determine whether there was an expectation gap between taxpayers and tax practitioners in rural South Africa. A questionnaire with pre-set questions was used and combined with semi-structured interviews to gather qualitative data to analyse the expectations and perceptions of both parties. The responses from the parties were analysed and compared to determine whether there was an expectation gap in rural South Africa. The study concluded that there was indeed an expectation gap between taxpayers and tax practitioners. The relationships for rural South Africa were analysed and it was evident that similar studies conducted with the same objectives in other parts of the world had the same results. There was indeed a gap between taxpayer expectations and tax practitioner perceptions of these expectations. Belastingbetalers wêreldwyd maak gebruik van belastingpraktisyns om hul belastingsake te hanteer. In Suid-Afrika maak belastingbetalers ook gebruik maak van belastingpraktisyns om hul belastingsake te hanteer. Die gebruik van belastingpraktisyns en hul dienste in Suid-Afrika is aan die toeneem weens van verskeie faktore. Die gevolglike verhouding tussen belastingbetalers en belastingpraktisyns was die onderwerp van hierdie studie. Die belastingbetaler het sekere verwagtings wanneer hulle die dienste van 'n belastingpraktisyn gebruik. Hierdie verwagtings kan gekoppel word aan verskeie faktore wat geïdentifiseer is in talle studies van die verhouding tussen belastingbetalers en belastingpraktisyns. Die faktore wat geïdentifiseer is vir hierdie studie is kliëntmotivering, kliëntvoorspraak, belastingminimalisering sowel as veranderings in wetgewing. Die belastingbetaler se verwagtings rakende hierdie faktore is ondersoek. Die persepsie van die belastingpraktisyn van hierdie belastingbetalerverwagtings is ook ondersoek. Die moontlikheid van 'n gaping tussen die verwagtings van die belastingbetaler en die persepsie van die belastingpraktisyn van hierdie verwagtings is geïdentifiseer in ander studies regoor die wêreld. Die moontlikheid van so 'n gaping in 'n Suid-Afrikaanse konteks is in hierdie studie ondersoek. Die doel van die studie was om te bepaal of daar ’n verwagtingsgaping tussen belastingbetalers en belastingpraktisyns in landelike Suid-Afrika is. 'n Vraelys is gebruik en gekombineer met semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude om kwalitatiewe data in te samel om die verwagting en persepsies van albei partye te ontleed. Die antwoorde van die partye is ontleed en vergelyk om te bepaal of daar ’n verwagtingsgaping in landelike Suid Afrika is. Die studie het bevind dat daar wel 'n verwagtingsgaping tussen belastingbetalers en belastingpraktisyns is. Die verhoudings vir landelike Suid-Afrika is ontleed en dit is duidelik dat soortgelyke studies met dieselfde doel in ander dele van die wêreld dieselfde resultate verkry. Daar is inderdaad 'n gaping tussen die belastingbetaler se verwagtings en die belastingpraktisyn se persepsie van hierdie verwagtings in landelike Suid-Afrika. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / am2014 / Taxation / unrestricted

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

In this study, I investigate the effect of auditor-provided tax services (ATS) on firms’ levels of book-tax differences and investors’ mispricing of book-tax differences. The joint provision of audit and tax services has been a controversial issue among regulators and academic researchers. Evidence on whether ATS improve or impair the overall accounting quality is inconclusive as a result of the specific testing circumstances involved in different studies. Book-tax differences capture managers’ earnings management and/or tax avoidance intended to maximize reported financial income and to minimize tax expense. Therefore, my first research question investigates whether ATS improve or impair audit quality by examining the relation between ATS and firms’ levels of book-tax differences. My results show that ATS are negatively related to book-tax differences, suggesting that ATS improve the overall audit quality and reduce aggressive financial and/or tax reporting. My second research question examines whether the improved earnings quality for firms acquiring ATS leads to reduced mispricing of book-tax differences among investors. Recent studies document that despite the rich information about firms’ future earnings contained in book-tax differences, investors process such information inefficiently, leading to systematic pricing errors among firms with large book-tax differences. My empirical evidence indicates that ATS mitigate such mispricing, with pricing errors being lower among firms acquiring ATS compared with firms without ATS. Collectively, these results support the notion that ATS improve audit quality through knowledge spillover. Moreover, the improved earnings quality among firms acquiring ATS in turn helps reduce investors’ mispricing of book-tax differences.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:19:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leticia B Tourinho Dantas.pdf: 1597174 bytes, checksum: 5c44043243b574409da20f7947520f9b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-13 / The objective of this work is to study the rules that deal with the impact of the tax services (ISSQN) in situations that characterize the import of services in order to verify its compatibility with positive legislation. The research has as its starting point the analysis of the constitutional text, seeking to build content, meaning and scope of prescriptive statements that impact directly on the legal regime of the ISS. In this plan, we focus the study of standards of competence of the ISS and what constitutes it and other infraconstitucional enunciations, through studying the role of supplementary law on the conformation of the legal system of the ISS. Traced the boundaries of both substance and form that define the institution of Tax Services at the constitutional level, the archetype of this constitutional duty is achieved, partly to investigate these prescriptive statements introduced in the legal system from the LC 116/03, analyzing the limits of positive law, each of the criteria of the rule of taxation possible from the ISS by building their semantic content, focusing on those that can trigger further discussions in relation to the tax in imports of services, namely the substantive test, the space and subjective criteria. We concluded that neither the constitutional legislator nor complement legislator, the determination of the substantive (conjugation of the verb with the complement), limited, both vehicles sheaths to address the possible materiality of the tax as the provision of services. On the space criterion, closely related to the principle of territoriality, we verify the possibility of adopting the principle of origin, as well as the destination on the taxation of services, being indispensable to the location of taxable activity the existence of evidence of connection to the Brazilian legal system, in order to legitimize the tax. Regarding the subjective criterion, especially on the topic of passive submission, we note that the legislature has the freedom to choose those which are responsible for compliance with the tax liability within the prescribed limits, may choose different person from the one who gets the economic benefit arising from activity of service provision, provided that there is another rule that permits restitution (reimbursement or retention). That done, we begin the analysis of rule of tax incidence of the incident ISS on the import of services covered by the same method in the previous steps, proving its compatibility with the Brazilian legal system / O objetivo do presente trabalho é estudar as normas que dispõem sobre a incidência do Imposto sobre Serviços de Qualquer Natureza nas situações que caracterizam a importação de serviços, a fim de verificar a sua compatibilidade com o ordenamento jurídico-positivo. A pesquisa tem como ponto de partida a análise do Texto Constitucional, buscando construir o conteúdo, sentido e alcance dos enunciados prescritivos que influem diretamente no regime jurídico do ISS. Neste plano, as atenções se voltam para o estudo da norma de competência do ISS e dos seus integrantes constitutivos como os princípios e demais enunciados infraconstitucionais, passando pelo estudo do papel da lei complementar na conformação do regime jurídico do ISS. Traçados os limites de fundo e de forma que delimitam a instituição do Imposto sobre Serviços no plano constitucional, alcança-se o arquétipo constitucional deste imposto, parte para a investigação dos enunciados prescritivos introduzidos no ordenamento jurídico a partir da LC n. 116/03, analisando dentro dos limites do direito positivo, cada um dos critérios integrantes da regra-matriz de incidência tributária possível do ISS, a partir da construção dos respectivos conteúdos semânticos, enfatizando aqueles que podem provocar maiores discussões em relação à incidência do imposto na importação de serviços, a saber o critério material, o critério espacial e o critério subjetivo. Conclui que não houve por parte, seja do legislador constitucional seja do legislador complementar, a determinação do critério material (conjugação do verbo com o complemento), limitando-se, ambos os veículos introdutores, a tratar da materialidade possível do imposto como sendo a prestação de serviços. Quanto ao critério espacial, intimamente relacionado ao princípio da territorialidade, verifica-se a possibilidade de adoção do princípio da origem, tanto quanto do destino na tributação da prestação de serviços, sendo indispensável para a localização da atividade tributável a existência de elementos de conexão com o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro, de modo a legitimar a tributação. Em relação ao critério subjetivo, em especial no tópico da sujeição passiva, constata-se que tem o legislador liberdade para a escolha daquele a quem incumbe o cumprimento da obrigação tributária, dentro dos limites previstos, podendo escolher pessoa diversa daquela que obtém o benefício econômico decorrente da atividade de prestação de serviço, desde que exista uma outra norma, que autorize a restituição (retenção ou reembolso). Feito isso, tem início a análise da regra-matriz de incidência tributária do ISS incidente na importação de serviços, pelo mesmo método percorrido nas etapas anteriores, concluindo pela sua compatibilidade com o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro