TAX CULTURE: A BIG STEP TOWARD VOLUNTARY TAX COLLECTION

Abstract

Governments of all countries have introduced various taxes, being that they are the main source of public revenues that finance public expenditures. At the same time, the taxpayers are looking for ways to pay as little tax as possible. The objective of the paper is to determine whether (and if so, how) tax culture affects the fulfillment of tax obligations. The paper is based on the hypothesis that the tax culture plays a significant role in voluntary tax collection wherefore the enforced tax collections are reduced. The issue of tax non-compliance can be overcome notably by ensuring an efficient, effective and fair tax regime and evolving a tax culture which would have a presumed good cooperation between the tax administration and taxpayers. Non-transparent and excessively complex tax laws, which are difficult to understand by an average educated taxpayer, and unequal application of the same tax provision to different taxpayers seriously undermine the trust in public authorities. The crisis of moral and social values, which occurs in modern societies, also reflects the taxpayers’ attitude toward orderly and conscientious payment of taxes. Since creating a “perfect” tax system, which would suit to all taxpayers, is impossible, a key tool for improving tax culture is taxpayer education about the importance of paying taxes to the provision of public goods and services. However, there is still much work to be done in building a sustainable tax culture.