IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/zbw/ijrvet/224917.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Vocational business students' conceptions and misconceptions of taxes as an input for instruction and curriculum development

Author

Listed:
  • Cechovsky, Nora

Abstract

Context: Tax evasion and tax compliance are important topics on a European level. Next to regulations and fines, the understanding of tax-related issues impacts a tax compliance decision. Vocational business students already pay taxes and are potential future entrepreneurs who will increasingly have to deal with tax-related issues in the future. Tax-related content is, therefore, integrated in the curriculum of business colleges in Austria. Information on business students' conceptions and misconceptions concerning taxes can serve as valuable input for instruction and curriculum development. Approach: In order to explore the conceptions and misconceptions of taxes among potential future entrepreneurs, students aged between 17 and 18 from business colleges in Austria were interviewed. Therefore, the technique of problem-centred interviews was chosen. The material was then analysed by using Mayring's content analytic method of structuring. Findings: The students' conceptions and misconceptions of taxes, the difference to scientific knowledge as well as possible reasons for the misconceptions are analysed and discussed. The results show that misconceptions concerning basic principles of taxes exist, that students only have vague conceptions and little experience when it comes to income tax. They do not perceive themselves as taxpayers even though many of them have work experience and they regularly act as consumers and pay value added tax. Even though the students are more familiar with value added tax rates, misconceptions concerning the reasons behind the differences in rates exist. Finally, most of the students only fragmentally remember the last fundamental tax reform in Austria. Conclusion: The findings as well as an analysis of the curriculum suggest that the students are missing basic knowledge on taxes as for example the on the difference between fees and taxes. On a curricular level, knowledge important for the individual taxpayer should build the ground for further business-related content. Finally, background knowledge on why different forms of taxes exist and on tax reforms should foster a deeper understanding and complement the factual knowledge most students already possess.

Suggested Citation

  • Cechovsky, Nora, 2020. "Vocational business students' conceptions and misconceptions of taxes as an input for instruction and curriculum development," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 7(2), pages 126-147.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ijrvet:224917
    DOI: 10.13152/IJRVET.7.2.1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/224917/1/1733859268.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.13152/IJRVET.7.2.1?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Djawadi, Behnud Mir & Fahr, René, 2013. "The Impact of Tax Knowledge and Budget Spending Influence on Tax Compliance," IZA Discussion Papers 7255, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Kirchler, Erich & Niemirowski, Apolonia & Wearing, Alexander, 2006. "Shared subjective views, intent to cooperate and tax compliance: Similarities between Australian taxpayers and tax officers," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 502-517, August.
    3. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    4. Adele Atkinson & Flore-Anne Messy, 2012. "Measuring Financial Literacy: Results of the OECD / International Network on Financial Education (INFE) Pilot Study," OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions 15, OECD Publishing.
    5. Leslie Robinson & Joel Slemrod, 2012. "Understanding multidimensional tax systems," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(2), pages 237-267, April.
    6. Markowitsch, Jörg & Hefler, Günter, 2018. "Staying in the loop: Formal feedback mechanisms connecting vocational training to the world of work in Europe," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 5(4), pages 285-306.
    7. 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.
    8. Davies, Peter & Lundholm, Cecilia, 2012. "Students’ understanding of socio-economic phenomena: Conceptions about the free provision of goods and services," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 79-89.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. James Alm, 2024. "Tax Compliance, Technology, Trust, and Inequality in a Post-Pandemic World," Working Papers 2404, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    2. Muhammad Shaukat Malik, Sabah Younus, 2019. "Determinants of Tax-Compliance Behaviour Explored by Slippery Slope Framework and Theory of Planned Behaviour: An Evidence from Small Business Owner," Journal of Management Sciences, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 6(2), pages 33-47, October.
    3. Casal, Sandro & Kogler, Christoph & Mittone, Luigi & Kirchler, Erich, 2016. "Tax compliance depends on voice of taxpayers," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 141-150.
    4. Geert Van Campenhout, 2015. "Revaluing the Role of Parents as Financial Socialization Agents in Youth Financial Literacy Programs," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 186-222, March.
    5. Diana Onu & Lynne Oats & Erich Kirchler & Andre Julian Hartmann, 2019. "Gaming the System: An Investigation of Small Business Owners’ Attitudes to Tax Avoidance, Tax Planning, and Tax Evasion," Games, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, November.
    6. Potrich, Ani Caroline Grigion & Vieira, Kelmara Mendes & Kirch, Guilherme, 2018. "How well do women do when it comes to financial literacy? Proposition of an indicator and analysis of gender differences," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 28-41.
    7. 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.
    8. Mohammed Abdullah Ammer & Theyazn H. H. Aldhyani, 2022. "An Investigation into the Determinants of Investment Awareness: Evidence from the Young Saudi Generation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-25, October.
    9. Fochmann, Martin & Kroll, Eike B., 2014. "The effects of rewards on tax compliance decisions," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 163, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    10. Chaouki Mouelhi & Hajer Hammami, 2021. "The Role of Knowledge Brokers in Improving Financial Literacy," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 11(3), pages 1-5.
    11. Colin C Williams, 2021. "Tackling Undeclared Self-Employment in South-East Europe: from Deterrents to Preventative Policy Measures," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 2, pages 280-298, July.
    12. Mannan, Kazi Abdul & Farhana, Khandaker Mursheda & Chowdhury, G. M. Omar Faruque, 2020. "Socio-economic Factors of Tax Compliance: An Empirical Study of Individual Taxpayers in the Dhaka Zones, Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 108278, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    13. Cicik Retno Wati & Sumiati Sumiati & Andarwati Andarwati, 2021. "The effect of financial knowledge on firm performance: The role of financial risk attitude as moderation," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(8), pages 236-249, December.
    14. Kamini Rai & Shikha Dua & Miklesh Yadav, 2019. "Association of Financial Attitude, Financial Behaviour and Financial Knowledge Towards Financial Literacy: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 8(1), pages 51-60, March.
    15. Fateme Kaghazloo & Ana Clara Borrego, 2022. "Designing a Model of the Factors Affecting Tax professionals' Tax noncompliant behaviour using The ISM Approach," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1099-1120, December.
    16. Iswahyudi, Heru, 2018. "Where has the money gone?: The case of Value Added Tax revenue performance in Indonesia," MPRA Paper 89876, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Fochmann, Martin & Kroll, Eike B., 2016. "The effects of rewards on tax compliance decisions," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 38-55.
    18. Ramesh Prasad Chaulagain, 2015. "Contribution of Financial Literacy to Behavior," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 7(6), pages 61-71.
    19. Azra Zaimovic & Anes Torlakovic & Almira Arnaut-Berilo & Tarik Zaimovic & Lejla Dedovic & Minela Nuhic Meskovic, 2023. "Mapping Financial Literacy: A Systematic Literature Review of Determinants and Recent Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-30, June.
    20. Maria Andersson & Ola Eriksson & Chris Von Borgstede, 2012. "The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-17, June.

    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:zbw:ijrvet:224917. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://vetnetsite.org/ .

    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.