Psychological Factors of Tax Compliance

Abstract

This study aims to clarify and conceptualize the socio-psychological factors of tax compliance. The author supports the thesis of the behavioral economics school that the standard model of deterrence is a useful starting point for understanding taxpayer motivations and behavior. But her theses, which are generally correct, do not fully take into account the data of other humanities about the importance of non-economic (social, psychological) motivations for tax compliance. Therefore, the standard model has to be extended and supplemented with numerous non-economic factors affecting tax compliance. Each taxpayer is strongly influenced by its environment, including norms, values, attitudes and customs, as well as the taxpayer's interactions with the tax authorities. Therefore, the actual mechanisms of tax compliance are always much more complex, and people’s perceptions of taxes are more than a rational comparison of individual costs and benefits.