Fatores determinantes de moralidade fiscal : análise empírica

: Portugal e Europa

Abstract

The efficiency of fiscal policies has been a subject at the top of policy makers' and academicians' agendas across many countries. Traditional tax evasion and tax compliance models fail to explain the wide variety of taxpayers' behavior toward paying taxes. In this context, the need to study tax moral as the individual intrinsic motivation to comply with the fiscal obligations is emphasized. This thesis used data from the European Values Study (5th wave) to estimate tax moral levels and investigate the determinants that influence and justify those levels presented by the Portuguese and European population. A better understanding of the determinant factors that shape tax moral can help governments and tax authorities to define more efficient and appropriate policies and actions to fight against tax non-compliance and improve taxpayers' voluntary compliance. By applying ordered probit models, the results of this study show higher levels of tax morale in Northern Europe than in Southern Europe. In turn, compared to other European citizens, the Portuguese tend to show a lower willingness to pay taxes. The findings also suggest that individual satisfaction and trust in the judicial system and public institutions positively and significantly affect most Europeans' tax moral. However, the remaining key determinants' impact is not uniform across all the population groups referred to in this investigation.

Date of Award	12 Jul 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria Luisa Anacoreta Correia (Supervisor) & Pedro Duarte Silva (Co-Supervisor)