MÉTODOS DE ANÁLISIS EN LÍNEA DE SACRIFICIO

The concept of norms in tax compliance, according to Kirchler (2007), is

difficult to conceptualize since norms could emanate from individual standards

(internally from the taxpayer), socially approved standards (from those who close

to the taxpayers), or the societal norms which are from the collective or at the

national level and translated into the tax law. Subjective norms or important

referent others, as defined by Ajzen (1991), are global social pressure from those

who close to a person such as family and friends, who could exert influence on a person’s ethical decision making because what is considered as ethical is not

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universally consistent (Westerman et al., 2007). This is supported by Kirchler

(2007) in a tax context, who argues that the tax compliance behaviour of taxpayers

is influenced by the group they are associated with.

A review of ethics studies by O’Fallon and Butterfield (2005), which

regards subjective norm as an organizational factor, suggests that subjective norm

is a new area of study in ethics literature and requires further examination. In their

synthesis of past studies in tax compliance by Jackson and Milliron (1986), and

later in an updated work by Richardson and Sawyer (2001), subjective norms in the

form of peer influence are regarded as an important tax compliance factor.

Similarly, the Fischer Model used by Fischer et al. (1992) also acknowledges the

importance of subjective norms (peer influence) in explaining the tax compliance

behaviour of taxpayers. The importance of subjective norms which is measured

using peer influence is further supported by Westerman et al. (2007). In their study

on respondents from Germany, Italy and Japan, Westerman et al. (2007) suggest that peers indicate stronger influence in a person’s ethical decision making

compared to national culture. However, the influence of peers is stronger in the

higher power distance and higher individualism societies.

With respect to the ethical decision making of tax agents, Milliron (1988),

for instance, has proposed a model examining the aggressiveness of tax agents in

the ambiguous tax environment. Based on interviews with 12 tax agents from public accounting firms, Milliron (1988) suggests that peers’ opinion is an aspect

that forms the “Preparer vulnerability” factor in offering aggressive advice to

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The importance of subjective norms in tax compliance behaviour is also

reported in Hanno and Violette’s (1996) study. The subjective norms/referents comprise ‘members of the family’, ‘current or future employer’, ‘close friends’ and

‘spouse/significant other’, and were tested on both compliers and non-compliers

groups. Generally, the compliers and non-compliers have the opinion that the

referent groups expected tax compliance from them. Of all the referent groups, the

only significant difference is the influence of family members on compliers and

non-compliers, where the strongest effect was found on compliers compared to

non-compliers.

In examining the role of subjective norms in tax compliance in the US,

Bobek and Hatfield (2003) found that subjective norms have a positive influence

and highly significant in all three scenarios used in the study. Bobek et al. (2007a)

applied the TPB among students in the US to understand the reasons why taxpayers

prefer a refund. Their study indicates that subjective norms influence the

withholding tax position of the taxpayers. The more the taxpayers are advised by

people around them to lower their withholding tax position, the more likely they

will perform the behaviour. The study by Trivedi et al. (2005) in Canada reports

that subjective norms are only significant in the case of intent to comply but not in

the case of intent to overstate the deductions. This suggests that participants in the

study are inclined to evade tax only if there is a genuine reason.

In a study by Saad (2011) in Malaysia and New Zealand, the findings of the

study support the importance of subjective norms in influencing the compliance

behaviour of individual taxpayers in an overstating business income scenario and

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survey with small medium business owners in Australia, the influence of subjective

norms such as from bookkeepers, accountants and tax agents are effective in

motivating taxpayer’s intention to comply with tax obligations. In a way, the

findings also indicate the importance of tax agents in assisting taxpayers to comply

with the tax law.

A review of past studies by Hite et al. (2003) on the factors that affect tax agents’ compliance decision, indicates that tax agents’ aggressive behaviour is

influenced by the opinions of others. In addition, their motivation to provide

aggressive advice is also demand-driven by the aggressiveness of the clients in tax

position. The findings imply the influence of peers and clients in their ethical

decision making. In a recent study, Tan (2011) also found that the type of advice given to tax agents’ clients, to a certain extent depends on the risk profiles of their

clients, indicating the influence of clients in the ethical decision making of tax

agents.

In another study, Kahle and White (2004) examine the influence of

subjective norms using an experimental study in the US involving tax agents from

various types of accounting firms. The results of the study suggest that tax agents

are influenced by their clients in their decision making. Tax agents are more

influenced by their client preferences rather than the direction of the evidence when

making decisions. The importance of subjective norms in the compliance behaviour

of tax agents is further supported by Smart (2012). The study which used members

of the New Zealand Institute of Accountants (NZICA), found that subjective norms

have a positive and significant influence on tax agents’ compliance behaviour to

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referent’s expectations, threat of losing respect from important referents and the tax

compliance behaviour of important referents influenced the intention of tax agents

to act ethically.