Determinants of corporate tax behaviour and co-operative compliance: a comparative study of the UK and Colombia

Thesis

This thesis seeks to analyse the impact that operating in jurisdictions with different socio-economic and legal contexts can have on taxpayer regulation. This is done by comparing large corporate taxpayers in the UK and in Colombia using empirical qualitative methods to examine the alignment between factors at different levels that can influence corporate tax behaviour, and the premises of the co-operative compliance. The main conclusion is that the factors present in Colombia are contrary to introducing this type of regulation. This is because critically-negative perceptions of the administration -particularly of its trustworthiness- corporate tax governance weaknesses, tax-risk prone social norms, and contextual factors like a high perception of corruption create an environment adverse to this model’s philosophy, which is highly dependent on interparty trust and taxpayer risk aversion and compliance-mindedness. Results from the UK show that co-operative compliance can contribute to improve taxpayer governance, strengthen risk-averse and/or compliance-minded taxation norms, and encourage perceptions of the administration that are favourable for voluntary compliance. However, the evidence also shows that operational difficulties can quickly erode taxpayer trust in the administration and on the value of collaboration, and jeopardise the progress made. This is the case with administrative business understanding, responsiveness, and providing of legal certainty while maintaining the model’s legitimacy and answering demands for fair and responsible outcomes. Accordingly, this thesis proposes policy measures designed to facilitate the conditions necessary for establishing co-operative compliance in contexts like Colombia’s, where shifting from adversarial, non-responsive regulation towards collaborative, responsive regulation could assist in improving voluntary compliance. Additionally, the author recommends policies for enhancing co-operative compliance’s sustainability in jurisdictions like the UK, where the model is developed, but the progress it has achieved needs to be protected against the trust and compliance-eroding effects arising from the regulator’s difficulties in satisfying taxpayer expectations.

Authors: Cruz, D

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: tax behaviour; taxation; comparative research; United Kingdom; cooperative compliance; tax compliance; Colombia; corporate tax; empirical research
• Subjects: Regulation; Cooperative compliance; Tax compliance; Corporations--Taxation; Tax law