Determinants of Tax Evasion: Empirical Evidence from Ghana

For decades, researchers of tax systems and taxation as a whole are in a dilemma on the factors affecting taxpayers’ noncompliant behaviors. Numerous experimental and survey results concluded by tax researchers have identified characteristics of noncompliant taxpayers because tax revenues are seen as a major source of income in funding government expenditures. Globalization has called for a huge demand for numerous public services thereby forcing governments into increasing tax revenues to finance these projects. The demand of public service by government and taxpayers shifts the burden of taxes to taxpayers. The gap between tax revenues and tax expenditures are swelling thereby ensuring unbalanced government budgets due to taxpayers’ noncompliance. Understanding the causes of tax evasion calls for research into taxpayers’ reasons for evading taxes. The main aim of the study is investigating factors that have a detrimental effect on tax evasion in Ghana. In coming out with such factors, this research employed multiple regression techniques and factor analysis. The empirical results obtained from the analysis revealed that taxation and fiscal factors, demographic factors, administrative factors and economics factors are the main factors that have a significant effect on the evasion of taxes.