Understanding the role of the tax practitioner within the taxpayer and tax practitioner relationship

Abstract

Tax practitioners can play an important role in assisting taxpayers to meet their compliance obligations. The increased use of tax practitioners over the past decade suggests that more and more taxpayers are seeking their advice on the application of tax legislation and assistance to ensure that they file accurate returns. This confirms that tax practitioners are well positioned to influence the compliance decisions of taxpayers. However, studies have shown that there is a disparity between the type of advice preferred by taxpayers and that provided by tax practitioners. Since research that explores the reasons for this disparity, particularly from a South African perspective, was found to be limited, the objective of this study was to identify potential reasons for the disparity by examining the factors that influence the behaviour of tax practitioners in the hope that this might assist in managing the expectation gap between the type of advice desired by taxpayers versus the type of advice provided by tax practitioners. Using semi-structured interviews conducted with tax practitioners employed at a Big 4 firm, a number of potential factors identified in previous studies were tested. The results proved that the behaviour of tax practitioners is influenced by various factors that may all affect the manner in which advice is given to clients and the nature of such advice.