Income Tax Compliance Behaviour in Kenya: An Application of Structural Equation Modelling

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to use a wide range of selected variables to establish the drivers, as well as test the validity and adequacy of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Procedural Justice Theory (PJT) in explaining tax compliance behavior among medium and large corporate taxpayers in Kenya. A Structural Equation Model was built using survey data on 142 business tax payers. The study examines the influence of measures of perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, procedural justice measures; tax system attributes (fairness, complexity, compliance costs as well as international compatibility) on tax compliance behavior, while controlling for hypothesized influence of firm size, age, sector and legal structure. The results indicate that tax compliance behavior significantly improves with increased perceived behavioral control, but declines significantly with increase in tax compliance costs. In addition, tax compliance increases as firm size increases.

Keywords: Tax Compliance Behaviour, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Income Tax, Corporate Taxpayers, Kenya