Compliance with Legal and Bureaucratic Rules: The Case of Self-Employed Taxpayers in Israel

Abstract

A random sample of about 2,500 self-employed taxpayers was chosen to investigate the conformity of taxpayers to income tax regulations. The indices of conformity are based on data derived from the taxpayers' files in the Income Tax Division. Two sets of hypotheses were formulated and tested, based on the proposition that a person's compliance with norms is a function of his basic orientations toward these norms on the one hand, and of the control system related to norm compliance on the other hand. In general, the findings support the basic proposition and the specific hypotheses derived from it. They also indicate that the basic orientation tends to be a major determinant of compliance in regard to the norms which determine the general terms of contact of the public with the organization, while the impact of the control structure is more complex and pervasive.

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