An Investigation of Moral Suasion and Vertical Equity Arguments on Intended Taxpayer Noncompliance

A statewide telephone survey was used to obtain data on self‐reports of hypothetical prize income. One‐third of the subjects were read a moral argument, one‐third were read information on the level of taxes paid by the "wealthy," and one‐third of the subjects were treated as the control group. Both the moral and the wealthy‐pay arguments increased compliance for some of the subjects. There was no apparent backlash effect from the moral argument as suggested by Tittle and Rowe (1973). The wealthy‐pay strategy was effective for taxpayers with tax balances due rather than for those receiving tax refunds. The study also provides evidence on how college education moderates the effects of tax balances due as well as evidence on how a moral argument can negate the noncompliance effects of tax balances due.     

A Moral Appeal for Taxpayer Compliance: The Case for a Mass Media Campaign*

This paper examines the ability of the mass media to enhance compliance with the law by the use of moral appeals. Drawing on the moral development literature and the literature of mass communication effects, we set forth a model for designing mass media campaigns directed at improving compliance with the law. Tax compliance is the issue we analyze. While we determine that no appeal, however well-crafted, is expected to reform all tax offenders, and that some approaches are likely to produce less rather than more compliance, we identify hallmarks of a potentially successful appeal.     

也从纳税人的权利和义务谈起--就一些税法新理论求教刘剑文教授

北京大学法学院教授、博士生导师刘剑文同志近几年对税法学提出了一些新理论,比如税收债务说、税法要私法化、国家同纳税人的关系是平等的等等。在前不久“税收宣传月”期间,他从维护纳税人权益的角度,在《中国税务报》上又两次宣传新理念(见《中国税务报》2005年4月6日和4月22日第5版)。他说:“纵览我国宪法,有关税收的条款只有一条,即第56条:‘中华人民共和国公民有依照法律纳税的义务’。而这唯一的一条强调的只是纳税人的义务,而没有体现纳税人的权利。”进而提出只有把税收理解为债,树立国家同纳税人的关系是平等的观念,才能真正解决纳…     

The "Compliance" Trap: The Moral Message in Responsive Regulatory Enforcement

Simple deterrence will often fail to produce compliance commitment because it does not directly address business perceptions of the morality of regulated behavior. Responsive regulation, by contrast, seeks to build moral commitment to compliance with the law. This article shows that a regulator can overcome the deterrence trap to improve compliance commitment with the skillful use of responsive regulatory techniques that "leverage" the deterrence impact of its enforcement strategies with moral judgments. But this leads it into the "compliance trap." The compliance trap occurs where there is a lack of political support for the moral seriousness of the law it must enforce, such as is the case with cartel enforcement in Australia. In these circumstances, business offenders are likely to interpret the moral leveraging of responsive regulation as unfair or stigmatizing, and business perceptions of regulator unfairness are likely to have a negative influence on long-term compliance with the law. Moreover, big businesses that perceive regulatory enforcement as illegitimate are also likely to actively lobby for the political emasculation of the regulator. In these circumstances, most regulators are likely to avoid conflict by taking the easy option of enforcing the law "softly," and therefore ineffectively.     

A Communication Model of Taxpayer Honesty

Sample surveys report that admitted tax evasion remains widespread and shows no sign of declining. An analysis of communication effects among Oregon adults suggests divergent, not convergent patterns among the users of mass media and personal information channels. Mass media exposure is strongly related to fear of getting caught and is directly related to taxpayer honesty. Personal discussion, however, is associated with low fear perceptions and is unrelated to compliance. Low fears are related to taxpayer dishonesty. No relationship is reported between mass media use and interpersonal discussion. Personal discussion does not appear to reinforce media messages as one would expect in a convergent communication model. Communication strategies for fostering compliance are discussed.     

纳税人权利话语之法理形构

有关纳税人权利话语的实践性议论和法律议论唤起了法学方法论的觉醒,但关于纳税人的权益如何构成一项公法上主观权利或宪法权利的争辩并没有被认真对待。如果直接从公民基本权利的性质切入,再加以层级化的结果,可以将之分为:自然权、宪法基本权利和一般法律权利三个层次,税法上的纳税人权利的主观公权利性质似乎没有疑问,但是宪法层次的纳税人权利面临着法律实践和理论的困难,在宪法解释学意义上所谓“纳税人基本权利”也许可以解释为宪法基本权利和纳税义务之间的平衡。     

Neutralization and Tax Evasion: How Effective Would a Moral Appeal Be in Improving Compliance to Tax Laws?

The failure of individuals to pay their taxes in full is a serious budgetary problem for the federal government. Existing research (Schwartz and Orleans, 1967; Grasmick and Scott, 1982) suggests that efforts to increase the guilt feelings experienced for tax evasion might improve compliance. However, neutralization theory (Sykes and Matza, 1957) predicts that guilt feelings can be reduced by neutralization strategies which justify guilt-producing behavior, compromising the inhibiting effect of guilt feelings. Our research shows that through the use of neutralization strategies which justify tax evasion the inhibiting effect of guilt feelings is sharply reduced. The implications of this finding for tax compliance programs based on appeals to the moral obligation of paying taxes are discussed.     

The Multiplicity of Taxpayer Identities and Their Implications for Tax Ethics

It is argued that many social factors (ethics, norms, legitimacy) affecting tax compliance derive their meaning and potency from taxpayers' identities—the way they position themselves socially, relative to other taxpayers and the tax authority. Based on survey data from 965 Australians, the present study investigates taxpayers' identities at three different levels of inclusiveness (personal, subgroup, and national identity) and their implications for tax-ethical attitudes. An inclusive identity in terms of one's nation was related to attitudes most conducive to tax compliance. It is concluded that the concept of identity is key to responsive regulation.     

Does School Finance Litigation Cause Taxpayer Revolt? Serrano and Proposition 13

An influential theory argues that court-ordered school finance equalization undermines support for public schools. Residents of wealthy school districts who cannot keep their tax revenues for their own school districts may vote to limit school funding altogether. Proponents of this theory point to Serrano v. Priest , a 1977 decision of the California Supreme Court that mandated equalization of school financing and was followed almost immediately by Proposition 13, a ballot initiative to limit the local property tax. I test the theory that these two events were causally related by using hierarchical models to analyze voters within school districts. I find no evidence that opposition to school finance equalization contributed to the tax revolt. Claims about the perverse consequences of school finance litigation should be greeted with skepticism.     

税收宏观调控中纳税人信赖利益之保护

在我国,税收宏观调控因经济发展需要而被频繁使用.无论经由税制变革还是征管调整的实施路径,其对纳税人信赖利益之损害都并不鲜见.这使税务当局和纳税人难以形成真正的良性互动,也引发了法治缺位与调控低效的“双重困境”.当务之急,应以税法上的利益均衡理念为指导,综合运用“存续保护”“损失补偿”和“过渡措施”等实体制度,同时合理设置规范税收立法、约束行政裁量及落实损失补偿的保障程序,以为各类税收宏观调控构建有针对性的纳税人信赖利益保护机制.     

Corporate Compliance and Human Rights

Human rights violations by corporations are a major challenge, even if serious companies try to prevent them with their internal compliance program. Traditionally CSR and compliance were synonyms for soft law and self-regulation. Compliance, however, is increasingly establishing itself as a fundamental requirement to prevent corporate liability. Obviously, there are additional requirements for responsibility (like jurisdiction and the offence as a step towards the corporate goal). Overall, what has evolved in areas like corruption, money laundering and tax crime is gradually extending to the protection of human rights.     

Professionalism, Organizations, and Compliance

Earlier studies haw shown that professional orientations are related to individual compliance with laws and regulations. However, no quantitative studies have focused on compliance at the organizational level and the professional orientations of the chief executive officer. Studies on dues and law breaking at the individual level have focused on professional orientations, but within an organization there are other aspects of professionalism that will be of import in determining the organization's compliance with the law. We posit that professionalism is a more complex notion for individuals located in an organizational setting. Utilizing data collected from 410 Australian nursing homes, which are characterized by a flat management structure, the data show that of three aspects of professionalism—orientation, values, and autonomy—it is professional autonomy that directly affects organizational compliance. However, the data do suggest that the relationship between professional orientations and organizational compliance are mediated by the complexity of the organization. Organizational culture is also shown to be an important factor in explaining compliance with the law.     

涉外纳税人税法适用问题研究

涉外纳税人的税法适用具有交叉重叠的特性,它既涉及到中国税法的适用,也涉及到外国税法以及国际税法的适用。适用不同的税法,对涉外纳税人的税收待遇有着不同的影响,同时也影响一国涉外税收政策的效应。     

人的道德主体性与主体道德教育

人是道德的主体，人的主体性是一切道德活动的内在依据。人的主体性在道德活动中的具体化，构成人作为道德主体的主体性，包括为“我”性、求善性、内在超越性、自由意志性、自我约束性。道德教育本质上是一种主体性的活动，是教育和受教育通过以道德化为中介的交往而实现的受教育德性自我建构的活动。主体道德教育反映了时代的要求，它以教育和受教育主体性的发挥为前提，以民主、平等的教育关系为保证，关注个体的需要，以培养生活中的道德主体为根本。     

德商、道德价值规律与品德标尺的应用

本文首先提出德商(Moral Quotient,MQ)的定义、计算公式和测评步骤。德商概念的引入以及由此推出的品德标尺理论旨在为公民道德建设提供了理论参考。     

Compliance with the law

The effectiveness of law as an instrument of social control depends on the assumptions lawmakers and implementers have about human behavior. The tax laws offer a good example of the difficulties in trying to anticipate what people will do in response to various legal requirements. This paper proposes a new approach to understanding tax compliance drawn from behavioral decision theory. The paper discusses the issue of rationality, explores the strategies people use to make taxpaying decisions, focuses on the distinction between norm-processing and outcome-processing strategies, and presents some implications of this approach for research and for legal policy making.     

道德阈限与道德教育的禁忌

传统观念认为：一个人“越道德越好”。事实并非如此，当道德行为超过一定的界限，会由于对他人理性自由的侵害而走向自己的反面，因而道德也有一定的阈限。道德教育，出于对人社会性需要的关怀，在现代已经不能仅由意图的“道德”而实现其初衷，所以，道德教育也有禁忌。道德教育的禁忌在不同的时代有所不同：传统表现为“自由”，现代则表现为“过多的干预”。