Tangled Up in Tape: The Continuing Tax Compliance Plight of the Small and Medium Enterprise Business Sector

Abstract

Firms in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector have to contend not just with the burden of tax. They also have to comply with obligations imposed by the tax system. Studies invariably show such tax compliance costs to be high and regressive. This article reports on a recent large-scale Australian study which confirm previous research and also suggests that tax compliance costs for SMEs are not diminishing over time, despite tax administrative reform and technological advances designed to reduce such costs. The outcomes of the study have significant implications for businesses in the SME sector, their advisers, administrators working with revenue authorities and policy-makers at the governmental level.