Tax control and corporate VAT compliance: An empirical assessment of the moderating role of tax strategy

Abstract

Tax control frameworks (TCF) of higher quality are seen by tax authorities and the OECD as a prerequisite for corporate tax compliance. However, a higher quality TCF can also enable organizations to reduce their tax burden by providing information that allows them to make the best use of opportunities within the boundaries of the tax law. We investigate the effect of TCF quality on tax compliance by looking at the tax strategy of the organization and whether the organization unintentionally or intentionally fails to comply. We focus on Value Added Tax (VAT) and test our hypotheses using a sample of large organizations, using a combination of survey data and tax audit results from the Netherlands. Our results show that a TCF of higher quality is positively associated with VAT compliance, resulting in both less unintentional and less intentional errors requiring tax adjustment. For organizations with a more conservative tax strategy, we find that the quality of the TCF does not affect the level of intentional non-compliance. For organizations with a more aggressive tax strategy, however, the level of intentional non-compliance is conditional upon the quality of the TCF, with a lower (higher) quality TCF leading to more (less) intentional non-compliance.