The role of social institutions in shaping taxpayer behaviour

Abstract

The article is devoted to the assessment of the impact that the social institutions of family, education and business have on taxpayer behaviour of natural persons. Special emphasis is placed on novice taxpayers, namely graduates, as they are most exposed to the impact of social factors. A laboratory experiment in the form of a survey of Russian students, conducted in 2021, served as the main research method. In order to process the results obtained, correlation and regression analysis, structural analysis, and the method of tabular presentation of data were used. It was found that the level of influence that the institutions under study have on tax behavior is different, that of the institution of family being the weakest. Respondents’ answers indicate that the joint influence of the institutions of education and business is much stronger. The results of the study can be used by the Federal Tax Service of Russia to develop a strategy for interacting with taxpayers as well as to implement the policy on legalization of business entities’ income. Prospects for further exploration of the topic are linked to the possibility of conducting a more detailed experiment that would include an extended list of questions. Such list will allow to assess the impact of a larger number of social institutions on taxpayers’ behavioural motives.

Keywords

• income tax
• tax rate
• institution of family
• institution of education
• institution of business
• behavioural motives
• regression