The ethics of tax evasion has been discussed sporadically in the theological and philosophical literature for at least 500 years. Martin Crowe wrote a doctoral thesis that reviewed much of that literature in 1944. The debate revolved around about 15 issues. Over the centuries, three main views evolved on the topic. But the business ethics literature has paid scant attention to this issue, perhaps because of the belief that tax evasion is always unethical.
This paper reports the results of a survey of Taiwan university students. The arguments that have been made over the centuries to justify tax evasion were ranked to determine which arguments are strongest and which are weakest. Male scores were compared to female scores to determine whether the responses differed by gender.
Data from a study of human beliefs and values were then examined to determine what effect certain demographics such as gender, age, education, religion and marital status had on the views of Taiwanese on the ethics of tax evasion.
關聯:
Business Research Yearbook, Global Business Perspectives 14(1), p.34-39
