Perceptions of individual taxpayers of different age groups on equity exchange in South Africa

Abstract

This study concerns the distributional fairness of taxes (horizontal and vertical fairness) and the exchange of equity. This study is mainly directed towards the exchange of equity between taxpayers and government. It is evident from the literature related to tax compliance that perceived ineffectiveness and inadequacy of government service delivery in exchange for taxes imposed on the citizens of a country is an important phenomenon that may negatively impact on the tax compliance of taxpayers. The taxpayer-government exchange relationship is, in essence, nothing more than a contractual relationship between taxpayers and government, and it must be fair to all parties. Studies in South Africa that focus on the taxpayer-government exchange as a phenomenon are very limited, not only in terms of the number of studies, but also in terms of the scope of the studies. One of the specific problems with existing studies in South Africa is that the age of individual taxpayers is not explored as a demographic variable that may impact on these taxpayers' perception of the fairness of the equity exchange in South Africa. The main purpose of this study is to empirically explore the perceptions of individual South African taxpayers of different age groups on the taxpayer-government exchange relationship. The study falls within the paradigm of interpretivism. It is exploratory in nature, using descriptive statistics as a technique for analysing primary data collected from individual taxpayers in South Africa by means of a web-based questionnaire. The results of the study indicated that in all age groups, the majority of respondents were of the opinion that ineffective government service delivery increased their tax burden. It emerged that respondents held the same views irrespective of age, and therefore it appears from these results that age as a demographic variable does not significantly impact on individual taxpayers' perceptions of the equity exchange in South Africa. This is in contrast with findings in international studies, where the age difference between respondents emerged as a significant variable that may affect individual taxpayers' perceptions of the taxpayer-government equity exchange in those countries.