Modeling the Factors Affecting Tax Auditing with Emphasis on Organizational Tax Compliance

Abstract

The present study was conducted with the aim of modeling the factors affecting tax auditing with an emphasis on organizational tax compliance. This study was applied in terms of purpose and quantitative in nature and employed a field-library research design using a questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of university professors, specialists, experts, and practitioners with research or executive experience in tax auditing, as well as members of the Association of Official Tax Consultants. Due to the extensive and indeterminate size of the statistical population across the country, and based on the Krejcie and Morgan table, the maximum sample size of 384 participants was selected. Since the present study was extracted from a doctoral dissertation, the data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire developed based on the qualitative findings of the dissertation. For data analysis, in addition to the descriptive analysis of participants’ demographic information, structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate the fitness of the research model and analyze the model paths. All analyses in the present study were conducted using SmartPLS version 3.1.1 and SPSS version 23 at a significance level of 0.05. The findings indicated that the research model had an acceptable fit, and that the level of trust (t = 22.391, p = 0.001), level of transparency (t = 22.705, p = 0.001), cultural factors (t = 25.581, p = 0.001), and level of expertise and capability (t = 32.291, p = 0.001) had a positive and significant effect on tax auditing with emphasis on organizational tax compliance. In contrast, organizational factors (t = 19.877, p = 0.001) and legal factors (t = 40.098, p = 0.001) had a negative and significant effect on tax auditing with emphasis on organizational tax compliance. Therefore, managers and relevant authorities can improve tax auditing and tax compliance conditions through building trust within society, enhancing tax transparency, promoting tax culture, improving the expertise and capabilities of tax organization employees, and simultaneously resolving organizational and legal problems.