IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v64y2014icp828-842.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

To Pay or Not to Pay? Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Taxation in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Ali, Merima
  • Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge
  • Sjursen, Ingrid Hoem

Abstract

This paper examines factors that determine citizens’ tax-compliance attitude in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa. Using the 2011–12 Afrobarometer survey data, we find that tax-compliance attitude is positively correlated with provision of public services in all the four countries. However, the correlation depends on the specific service in question and differs between countries. Tax knowledge and awareness are found to be positively correlated with tax-compliance attitude. On the other hand, frequent payment to non-state actors in exchange for security and individual’s perception that their own ethnic group is treated unfairly by the government are negatively correlated with tax-compliance attitude.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali, Merima & Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge & Sjursen, Ingrid Hoem, 2014. "To Pay or Not to Pay? Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Taxation in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 828-842.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:828-842
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.07.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14002083
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.07.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chand, Sheetal K. & Moene, Karl O., 1999. "Controlling Fiscal Corruption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 1129-1140, July.
    2. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," NBER Chapters, in: Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment, pages 1-54, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Alm, James & McClelland, Gary H. & Schulze, William D., 1992. "Why do people pay taxes?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 21-38, June.
    4. Hug, Simon & Spörri, Franziska, 2011. "Referendums, trust, and tax evasion," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 120-131, March.
    5. Graetz, Michael J & Reinganum, Jennifer F & Wilde, Louis L, 1986. "The Tax Compliance Game: Toward an Interactive Theory of Law Enforcement," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-32, Spring.
    6. AfDB AfDB, . "East Africa Quarterly Bulletin - Second Quarter 2013," Country Brochure, African Development Bank, number 973.
    7. AfDB AfDB, . "African Development Report 2012 - Towards Green Growth," African Development Report, African Development Bank, number 460.
    8. World Bank, 2012. "World Development Indicators 2012," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6014, December.
    9. Hindriks, Jean & Keen, Michael & Muthoo, Abhinay, 1999. "Corruption, extortion and evasion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(3), pages 395-430, December.
    10. Friedrich Schneider & Friedrich Schneider, 2008. "Shadow Economies and Corruption all over the World: What do we Really Know?," Chapters, in: Michael Pickhardt & Edward Shinnick (ed.), The Shadow Economy, Corruption and Governance, chapter 7, pages 122-187, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Kirchler, Erich & Hoelzl, Erik & Wahl, Ingrid, 2008. "Enforced versus voluntary tax compliance: The "slippery slope" framework," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 210-225, April.
    12. Sacks, Audrey, 2012. "Can donors and non-state actors undermine citizens'legitimating beliefs ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6158, The World Bank.
    13. Fjeldstad, Odd-helge & Semboja, Joseph, 2001. "Why People Pay Taxes: The Case of the Development Levy in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2059-2074, December.
    14. Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, 2000. "Taxation, coercion and donors. Local government tax enforcement in Tanzania," CMI Working Papers 7, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
    15. Cristina Bodea & Adrienne LeBas, 2013. "The Origins of Social Contracts: Attitudes toward Taxation in Urban Nigeria," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2013-02, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    16. AfDB AfDB, . "Africa Competitiveness Report 2013," Africa Competitiveness Report, African Development Bank, number 456.
    17. James Alm, 2012. "Measuring, explaining, and controlling tax evasion: lessons from theory, experiments, and field studies," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(1), pages 54-77, February.
    18. Ms. Janet Gale Stotsky & Ms. Asegedech WoldeMariam, 1997. "Tax Effort in Sub-Saharan Africa," IMF Working Papers 1997/107, International Monetary Fund.
    19. Benno Torgler, 2005. "Tax morale in Latin America," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 133-157, January.
    20. Sah, Raaj K, 1991. "Social Osmosis and Patterns of Crime," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(6), pages 1272-1295, December.
    21. Friedman, Eric & Johnson, Simon & Kaufmann, Daniel & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 2000. "Dodging the grabbing hand: the determinants of unofficial activity in 69 countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 459-493, June.
    22. AfDB AfDB, . "East Africa Quarterly Bulletin - Third Quarter 2012," Country Brochure, African Development Bank, number 451.
    23. AfDB AfDB, . "The AfDB Group in North Africa 2013," Country Brochure, African Development Bank, number 477.
    24. AfDB AfDB, . "African Statistical Journal Vol.16," African Statistical Journal, African Development Bank, number 455.
    25. Christian Daude & Hamlet Gutiérrez & Ángel Melguizo, 2012. "What Drives Tax Morale?," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 315, OECD Publishing.
    26. AfDB AfDB, . "East Africa Quarterly Bulletin - First Quarter 2013," Country Brochure, African Development Bank, number 465.
    27. Frank A. Cowell, 1990. "Cheating the Government: The Economics of Evasion," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262532484, December.
    28. James Andreoni & Brian Erard & Jonathan Feinstein, 1998. "Tax Compliance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 818-860, June.
    29. Odd-Helge Fjeldstad & Collette Schulz-Herzenberg & Ingrid Hoem Sjursen, 2012. "Peoples' views of taxation in Africa: A review of research on determinants of tax compliance," CMI Working Papers 7, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
    30. Joshi, Anuradha & Prichard, Wilson & Heady, Christopher, 2012. "Taxing the Informal Economy: Challenges, Possibilities and Remaining Questions," Working Papers 2309, Institute of Development Studies, International Centre for Tax and Development.
    31. Mr. Paulo Drummond & Mr. Wendell Daal & Mr. Nandini Srivastava & Mr. Luiz E Oliveira, 2012. "Mobilizing Revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Norms and Key Determinants," IMF Working Papers 2012/108, International Monetary Fund.
    32. Vito Tanzi, 2000. "Policies, Institutions and the Dark Side of Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1398.
    33. Cristina Bodea & Adrienne LeBas, 2013. "The Origins of Social Contracts: Attitudes toward Taxation in Urban Nigeria," CSAE Working Paper Series 2013-02, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    34. Abhijit V. Banerjee, 1992. "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(3), pages 797-817.
    35. AfDB AfDB, . "African Statistical Yearbook 2013," African Statistical Yearbook, African Development Bank, number 458.
    36. Cowell, Frank A. & P.F. Gordon, James, 1988. "Unwillingness to pay : Tax evasion and public good provision," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 305-321, August.
    37. AfDB AfDB, . "African Development Report 2011," African Development Report, African Development Bank, number 986.
    38. Allingham, Michael G. & Sandmo, Agnar, 1972. "Income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(3-4), pages 323-338, November.
    39. AfDB AfDB, . "African Development Report 2012 - Overview," African Development Report, African Development Bank, number 464.
    40. Christine Fauvelle‐Aymar, 1999. "The Political and Tax Capacity of Government in Developing Countries," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 391-413, August.
    41. Christian Daude & Ángel Melguizo, 2010. "Taxation and More Representation?: On Fiscal Policy, Social Mobility and Democracy in Latin America," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 294, OECD Publishing.
    42. Alex Cobham (QEH), "undated". "Tax Evasion, Tax Avoidance and Development Finance," QEH Working Papers qehwps129, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    43. Sandmo, Agnar, 2005. "The Theory of Tax Evasion: A Retrospective View," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 58(4), pages 643-663, December.
    44. Richard Bird & Joosung Jun, 2005. "Earmarking in Theory and Korean Practice (2005)," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0515, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    45. Torgler, Benno, 2004. "Tax morale in Asian countries," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 237-266, April.
    46. Reinikka, Ritva & Svensson, Jakob, 2006. "Using Micro-Surveys to Measure and Explain Corruption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 359-370, February.
    47. Baskaran, Thushyanthan & Bigsten, Arne, 2013. "Fiscal Capacity and the Quality of Government in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 92-107.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Al-Mouksit AKIM & Mahdi Ben JELLOUL & Leo CZAJKA & Anne-Sophie ROBILLIARD, 2020. "Collect more, spend better? Assessing the incidence of fiscal systems and public spending in three Francophone West African countries," Working Paper 3023a15d-161b-4025-a0eb-e, Agence française de développement.
    2. Dincer, Oguzhan & Gillanders, Robert, 2021. "Shelter in place? Depends on the place: Corruption and social distancing in American states," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    3. Mawejje, Joseph & Sebudde, Rachel K., 2019. "Tax revenue potential and effort: Worldwide estimates using a new dataset," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 119-129.
    4. Estian Calitz, 2019. "Are the South African fiscal authorities serious about tax base broadening?," Working Papers 06/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    5. Zhiming Cheng & Russell Smyth, 2016. "Why Give it Away When You Need it Yourself? Understanding Public Support for Foreign Aid in China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 53-71, January.
    6. Timmons, Jeffrey F. & Garfias, Francisco, 2015. "Revealed Corruption, Taxation, and Fiscal Accountability: Evidence from Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 13-27.
    7. Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge & Kagoma, Cecilia & Mdee, Ephraim & Sjursen, Ingrid Hoem & Somville, Vincent, 2020. "The customer is king: Evidence on VAT compliance in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    8. Dorband, Ira Irina & Jakob, Michael & Kalkuhl, Matthias & Steckel, Jan Christoph, 2019. "Poverty and distributional effects of carbon pricing in low- and middle-income countries – A global comparative analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 246-257.
    9. Mazhar, Ummad & Méon, Pierre-Guillaume, 2017. "Taxing the unobservable: The impact of the shadow economy on inflation and taxation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 89-103.
    10. Jahnke, Bjoern, 2015. "How does petty corruption affect tax morale in sub-Saharan Africa? An empirical analysis," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-564, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    11. Bolt, Jutta & Gardner, Leigh, 2018. "Tax Compliance under Indirect Rule in British Africa," African Economic History Working Paper 40/2018, African Economic History Network.
    12. Koehler, Johanna & Thomson, Patrick & Hope, Robert, 2015. "Pump-Priming Payments for Sustainable Water Services in Rural Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 397-411.
    13. Paul Mosley & Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai, 2016. "The political economy of 'linked' progressive taxation in Africa and Latin America," WIDER Working Paper Series 131, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Jahnke, Björn & Weisser, Reinhard A., 2019. "How does petty corruption affect tax morale in Sub-Saharan Africa?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    15. Vincent, Rose Camille, 2023. "Vertical taxing rights and tax compliance norms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 443-467.
    16. Acey, Charisma & Kisiangani, Joyce & Ronoh, Patrick & Delaire, Caroline & Makena, Evelyn & Norman, Guy & Levine, David & Khush, Ranjiv & Peletz, Rachel, 2019. "Cross-subsidies for improved sanitation in low income settlements: Assessing the willingness to pay of water utility customers in Kenyan cities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 160-177.
    17. Björn Jahnke, 2017. "How does petty corruption affect tax morale in sub-Saharan Africa? An empirical analysis," WIDER Working Paper Series 008, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Banerjee, Ritwik & Boly, Amadou & Gillanders, Robert, 2022. "Anti-tax evasion, anti-corruption and public good provision: An experimental analysis of policy spillovers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 179-194.
    19. Ouédraogo, Rasmané & Sawadogo, Relwendé & Sawadogo, Hamidou, 2021. "Access to the banking sector and employment in Africa," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 260-269.
    20. Joseph Mawejje & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2021. "Uganda's fiscal policy reforms: What have we learned?," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 89-107, June.
    21. Giulia Mascagni, 2018. "From The Lab To The Field: A Review Of Tax Experiments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 273-301, April.
    22. Huong, Vu Van & Cuong, Ly Kim, 2019. "Does government support promote SME tax payments? New evidence from Vietnam," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    23. Takaaki Masaki, 2016. "The impact of intergovernmental transfers on local revenue generation in Africa: Evidence from Tanzania," WIDER Working Paper Series 113, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Odd-Helge Fjeldstad & Collette Schulz-Herzenberg & Ingrid Hoem Sjursen, 2012. "Peoples' views of taxation in Africa: A review of research on determinants of tax compliance," CMI Working Papers 7, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
    2. Mendoza, Juan P. & Wielhouwer, Jacco L. & Kirchler, Erich, 2017. "The backfiring effect of auditing on tax compliance," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 284-294.
    3. James Alm, 2019. "What Motivates Tax Compliance?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 353-388, April.
    4. Colin C. Williams & Friedrich Schneider, 2016. "Measuring the Global Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16551.
    5. Torgler, Benno & Schneider, Friedrich, 2009. "The impact of tax morale and institutional quality on the shadow economy," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 228-245, April.
    6. Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge & Tungodden, Bertil, 2003. "Fiscal Corruption: A Vice or a Virtue?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 1459-1467, August.
    7. Çule, Monika & Fulton, Murray, 2009. "Business culture and tax evasion: Why corruption and the unofficial economy can persist," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 811-822, December.
    8. Maertens, Sven & Grimme, Wolfgang & Jung, Martin, 2014. "An economic–geographic assessment of the potential for a new air transport hub in post-Gaddafi Libya," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-12.
    9. Colin C. Williams, 2014. "Confronting the Shadow Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15370.
    10. Cyan, Musharraf R. & Koumpias, Antonios M. & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge, 2016. "The determinants of tax morale in Pakistan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 23-34.
    11. James Alm & Jeremy Clark & Kara Leibel, 2011. "Socio-economic Diversity, Social Capital, and Tax Filing Compliance in the United States," Working Papers in Economics 11/35, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    12. James Alm & William D. Schulze & Carrie von Bose & Jubo Yan, 2019. "Appeals to Social Norms and Taxpayer Compliance," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(2), pages 638-666, October.
    13. Alm, James & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & McClellan, Chandler, 2016. "Corruption and firm tax evasion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 146-163.
    14. Birskyte Liucija, 2014. "The Impact of Trust in Government on Tax Paying Behavior of Nonfarm Sole Proprietors," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 61(1), pages 1-15, July.
    15. James Alm & Kim M. Bloomquist & Michael McKee, 2017. "When You Know Your Neighbour Pays Taxes: Information, Peer Effects and Tax Compliance," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 38, pages 587-613, December.
    16. Fjeldstad, Odd-helge & Semboja, Joseph, 2001. "Why People Pay Taxes: The Case of the Development Levy in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2059-2074, December.
    17. James Alm & Matthias Kasper, 2020. "Laboratory Experiments," Working Papers 2008, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    18. Giulia Mascagni, 2018. "From The Lab To The Field: A Review Of Tax Experiments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 273-301, April.
    19. Vincent, Rose Camille, 2023. "Vertical taxing rights and tax compliance norms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 443-467.
    20. Stefanos A. Tsikas, 2020. "Enforce taxes, but cautiously: societal implications of the slippery slope framework," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 149-170, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:828-842. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.