When tax practitioners file their personal tax returns: Do attitude, social norms, and perceptual control matter?

Authors

  • Siti Nurfarhana Mohamad Dzulkifli Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor Kampus Puncak Alam
  • Seri Ayu Masuri Md Daud Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor Kampus Puncak Alam

Keywords:

Tax compliance, Attitude, Subjective norms, Perceived behavioural control, Theory of planned behavior, Free trait theory

Abstract

Tax revenue is a key source of income for most countries in the world. To maximize tax revenue, it is critical that taxpayers comply with relevant tax laws particularly in a self-assessment filing system. Alas, many countries are still grappling with tax evasion or even tax avoidance issue. A key challenge is tax compliance behavior remains a complex and perplexing topic. While a lack of tax knowledge is pertinently attributable to unintentional non-compliance, the causes of intentional non-compliance are far from clear. This study aims to investigate the factors associated with intentional tax non-compliance by ruling out the variation in tax knowledge explanation. In so doing, this study employs a sample of respondents deemed conversant with tax knowledge. More specifically, this study surveys 104 tax practitioners in Malaysia using a convenience sampling technique and utilizes the theories of planned behavior and free trait to explore how they behave when filing their personal tax returns. The findings suggest only subjective norms is significantly linked to their tax compliance behavior. This study extends the literature on the role of individual factors on tax compliance behaviour among tax practitioners acting in a different persona.

Author Biographies

Siti Nurfarhana Mohamad Dzulkifli, Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor Kampus Puncak Alam

Siti Nurfarhana Mohamad Dzulkifli completed her MSc. in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology at the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam in 2021. During her Master’s, she was also a casual research and teaching assistant at the UiTM Puncak Alam. She also holds a Diploma in Accountancy and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Accounting and Finance from Kolej Poly-Tech Mara, Bangi. She did her internship program at the Malaysian Petroleum Club from September 2015 until January 2016 and continued to work there as an account assistant until May 2016. She can be reached through her email at farhanadzulkifli@gmail.com.

Seri Ayu Masuri Md Daud , Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Selangor Kampus Puncak Alam

Seri Ayu Masuri Md Daud, PhD, CA, ACCA, is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor Branch, Puncak Alam Campus, Malaysia. She is a Chartered Accountant, a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) with over three years working experience as Account Executive at the Malayan Banking Bhd. Shas taught various courses of accounting and finance at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional levels. She has a PhD from the University of Queensland, Australia concerned with the role of board industry expertise on the estimation accuracy of the largest and uncertain liability among property-casualty insurers. Her current research interests encompass issues relating to integrated reporting, the value relevance of accounting information, the board of directors’ efficacy and corporate governance, tax compliance, and the implications of government intervention for firm performance. She is currently the Research and Innovation Coordinator at the Faculty of Accountancy. She also holds various other administration posts at the Faculty of Accountancy including the Research Committee Member. She is also an Associate Member of the Research Ethics Committee of UiTM.

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Published

2021-09-01

How to Cite

Mohamad Dzulkifli, S. N. ., & Md Daud , S. A. M. (2021). When tax practitioners file their personal tax returns: Do attitude, social norms, and perceptual control matter?. Journal of Emerging Economies and Islamic Research, 9(3), 50–66. Retrieved from https://journal.uitm.edu.my/ojs/index.php/JEEIR/article/view/4022

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 3 (2021): September 2021 Issue

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