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International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2225-8329

The Moderating Effect of Individual Taxpayers’ Education Level on Ethical Perception and Tax Compliance Behaviour in Peninsular Malaysia

Tan Swee Kiow, Lau Claudia, Aza Azlina Md Kassim, Mohd Fuad Mohd Salleh

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v11-i1/8857

Open access

Tax revenue is a main source of income to government and is used for various public services and essentials. Taxes generally are perceived as a burden to taxpayers, so tax evasion is a universal phenomenon that governments facing in the world. Malaysia is in the fiscal deficit situation and it became worse during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is important to increase tax revenue as it would help to reduce the fiscal deficit. This study looks into how ethical perception of individual taxpayers to be influenced by their education level and hence further influence their tax compliance behaviour. The researcher used cross-sectional survey design to collect data at one point in time. This study using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 21 to analyse the data in order to obtain meaningful information. Based on 606 respondents in Peninsular Malaysia, the study indicates that ethical perception has a positive significance impact on tax compliance behaviour. The results also highlight a significant positive relationship between ethical perception and tax compliance behaviour when moderated by education level. It means education level will enhance ethical perception of individual taxpayers, hence they will be more compliant. Based on this findings, government can improve further their existing policies to make sure high tax compliance in future.

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In-Text Citation: (Tan et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Tan, S. K., Lau, C., Kassim, A. A. M., & Salleh, M. F. M. (2021). The Moderating Effect of Individual Taxpayers’ Education Level on Ethical Perception and Tax Compliance Behaviour in Peninsular Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting Finance and Management Sciences, 11(1), 166-182.