Tax Compliance Motivations During Corruption Scandals in a Fragile Democracy : A Before-and-After Study

Abstract

Fostering tax morale and reducing tax evasion is particularly challenging for the fragile democracies of Eastern Europe and post-Soviet Eurasia. This study investigates enforced and voluntary tax compliance motivations in Hungary, where democratic decline and a taxation policy shift towards deterrence measures occurred simultaneously. We compare the tax compliance motivations of citizens before and after a series of corruption scandals related to the tax authority. Our findings demonstrate that these scandals undermined trust in the tax authority and voluntary tax compliance. An important policy implication is that the tax regimes of fragile democracies should include measures to build trust in national tax authorities.