Dissatisfaction with university courses undermines a sense of obligation to repay Higher Education Contribution Scheme debt, which in turn impairs tax morale and triggers tax evasion, writes Elixa Ahmed. HECS policy has, therefore, been counter-productive in practice in building legal compliance despite its rigorous economic developments and its intuitive appeal to policy makers. Policy needs...

Dialogue between states with widely diverging tax systems has emerged as a key feature of international efforts to regulate tax havens. As these initiatives have unfolded there has been a transition away from regulation by command and control towards responsive regulatory dialogue in which tax havens have been encouraged to cooperate through engagement and active...

Why taxpayers pay their taxes voluntarily is an important question for tax administrations worldwide. Some believe it is because taxpayers are deterred from tax evasion out of a fear of being caught or penalised. Others, suggest that factors such as the level of 'tax morale' (the intrinsic motivation one has to pay their tax) affects...

Michael Wenzel investigated whether tax ethics and social norms constitute true motivations for tax compliance, or whether they are mere rationalisations of self-interested behaviour. Data from a survey of 1161 Australians provides evidence for a complex role of individual ethics and social norms in taxpaying behaviour.

Running 24-25 July 2003 at the Australian National University, this third international research conference brought together knowledge that CTSI has gained over the last three years about applying responsive regulation to the area of taxation. The 2003 conference mapped out some of the issues that will be critical to both tax policy and tax administration...