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Contentious interactions may arise between a tax professional and client upon a disagreement over a tax position. In an increasingly competitive tax return preparation market, these contentious interactions represent a significant threat to tax practitioners' client satisfaction and retention objectives. I conduct an experiment in which I examine the effect of three factors on tax clients' (1) likelihood to accept the advice of the tax accountant and (2) likelihood to switch tax accountants upon receiving professional advice counter to their preferred tax position. The three factors are: (1) clients' antagonistic narcissism; (2) clients' relationship with the accountant; and (3) how the advice is framed by the tax accountant. The results are based on a sample of 93 taxpayers. First, this study examines how clients' measured levels of narcissistic antagonism (hereafter, antagonism) impacts their reaction to "being told no" by their tax professional. Results indicate that upon the receipt of advice contrary to their preferences, highly antagonistic clients are more likely to (1) engage in a contentious interaction with their professional and (2) switch to a new tax professional. Supplemental path analyses document that individuals with high levels of antagonism cognitively react to instances of "being told no" by simultaneously devaluing their professionals' credibility and role as a client advocate, leading to these aggressive behaviors. This study also examines how the social closeness of the professional-client relationship influences the argue and switch decisions. Multivariate analysis indicates that social closeness is significantly related to the argue and switch decision. However, univariate results do not show significant relationship between social closeness and each of the decisions individually. That is, I find partial support for the professional publications and AICPA recommendations that tax practitioners should develop personal relationships with their clients to improve client satisfaction and likelihood of retention. Clients are marginally more likely to retain their current tax professional for future years when they feel they have a personal relationship with their tax practitioner, as opposed to those in a purely professional relationship. Finally, this dissertation considers the manner in which a tax professional frames his/her advice that is counter to a client's preferences. Results indicate that contrary advice that focuses on the potential downsides of an aggressive tax position (e.g., IRS audits and penalties) significantly dissuades client argument with the professional and significantly deters switching to a new tax accountant as compared to advice that is framed as being in the clients' "best interest."

Nell’ambito della psicologia fiscale, che studia gli aspetti psicosociali alla base del comportamento dei contribuenti, un numero crescente di ricerche sottolinea l’importanza della buona relazione tra i cittadini, professionisti e autorità fiscali, ai fini della tax compliance. Il progetto studia il “contraddittorio”, uno dei principali touchpoint tra funzionari e professionisti fiscali che si svolge in Agenzia delle Entrate. La ricerca è multi-metodo. Il fenomeno è stato dapprima esplorato con l’“etnografia focalizzata”: sono state individuate quattro strategie di engagement utilizzate dalle autorità durante gli incontri. È stato inoltre trovato che l’incontro vis a vis con le autorità stimola fiducia e la percezione di equità del sistema. Nella seconda parte del lavoro, censuaria, diversi aspetti del contraddittorio sono stati analizzati sul piano quantitativo, sulla popolazione dei funzionari in contraddittorio, attraverso una batteria di item (scale già in uso e scale costruite appositamente). Sono stati individuati i principali aspetti di variazione nell’uso delle strategie. È stata studiata anche la relazione tra appartenenza organizzativa e comportamento sul posto di lavoro dei funzionari. I risultati suggeriscono molteplici aree di indagine rispetto al fare compliance, sia “interna” (verso il personale) che esterna (contribuenti), e numerosi spunti per migliorare l’efficacia dell’azione amministrativa. / In the field of tax psychology, which studies psychosocial antecedents of taxpayer behavior, a growing number of researches emphasize the importance of e good relationship between citizen, tax professionals and tax authorities, for enhancing tax compliance. The project explores the “cross-examination” (“contraddittorio”), one of the main touchpoints between tax officials and taxpayers that takes place in Revenue Agency, thought a multi-method research. The phenomenon was first explored in a “focused ethnography”: four engagement strategies used by authorities during the meeting were identified. The effects of vis a vis with the authorities on trust and the perception of fairness towards the tax system were confirmed. In the second part of the work (census), the several features of the cross examination was quantitatively analyzed on the entire population of tax-officials. A battery of items (made up of validated scales and ad hoc scales developed for the purpose) was used. The main aspects of variation in the use of strategies was identified. The relationship between the tax officials organizational belonging and their behavior at work was also studied. The results suggest multiple areas of investigation with respect of engagement, both “internal” (toward personnel) and external (toward clients) of revenue agency, and ideas for improving the effectiveness of tax administration.