Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Romanian Business Students and Faculty

  • Chapter
Accounting and Financial Systems Reform in Eastern Europe and Asia

Abstract

This chapter examines the issue of the ethics of tax evasion. It begins with a review of the literature and proceeds to discuss the three main views on the issue that have emerged over the last 500 years. The chapter then reports on the results of a survey taken of Romanian business students and faculty.

The author would like to thank Anca R. Laiu for translating the survey into Romanian and collating the data and Prof. Mihaela Dinu for distributing the survey. An earlier version of this chapter appeared as an Andreas School of Business Working Paper, September 2005.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ahmad, Mushtaq. 1995. Business Ethics in Islam. Islamabad, Pakistan: The International Institute of Islamic Thought and the International Institute of Islamic Economics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angelus of Clavisio. 1494. Summa Angelica, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes, The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, Mary Beth and Jack Robison. 1998. Ethics in Taxation. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(4): 535–557, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 330–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballas, Apostolos A. and Haridimos Tsoukas. 1998. Consequences of distrust: The Vicious Circle of Tax Evasion in Greece. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(4): 572–596, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 284–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berardi, Aemilio. 1898. Praxis Confessariorum II, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes, The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binswanger, Harry, editor. 1986. The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z. New York: New American Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, Walter. 1989. The Justification of Taxation in the Public Finance Literature: A Critique. Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice 3: 141–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, Walter. 1993. Public Finance Texts Cannot Justify Government Taxation: A Critique. Canadian Public Administration/Administration Publique du Canada 36(2): 225–262, reprinted in revised form under the title “The Justification for Taxation in the Economics Literature” in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 36–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, Eli D. (n.d.) Paying Taxes: Time to Stop the Evasion. Business Ethics and Integrity (Jerusalem) www.besr.org/.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohn, Gordon. 1998. The Jewish View on Paying Taxes. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(2): 109–120, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 180–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crolly, George. 1877. Disputationes Theologicae de Justitia et Jure III at pp. 1001ff, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes, The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowe, Martin T. 1944. The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes, The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, Henry. 1938. Moral and Pastoral Theology, p. 339, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes, The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 40.

    Google Scholar 

  • deJouvenel, Bertrand. 1952. The Ethics of Redistribution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted by The Liberty Fund, Indianapolis, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMoville, Wig. 1998. The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Baha’i Perspective. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 356–368, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 230–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Encyclopedia of Mormonism. 1992. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Englebrecht, Ted D., Buky Folami, Choongseop Lee and John J. Masselli. 1998. The Impact on Tax Compliance Behavior: a Multidimensional Analysis. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(4): 738–768, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 372–402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genicot, E.-Salsmans. 1927. Institutiones Theologiae Moralis I, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes, The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gronbacher, Gregory M.A. 1998. Taxation: Catholic Social Thought and Classical Liberalism. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(1): 91–100, reprinted in Robert W. McGee (Ed.), The Ethics of Tax Evasion (pp. 158–167). Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gwartney, James D. and Richard E. Wagner, editors. 1988. Public Choice and Constitutional Economics. Greenwich, CT and London: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbes, Thomas. 1651. Leviathan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jefferson, Thomas. 1789. Letter of Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, Paris, September 6, 1789, reprinted in Thomas Jefferson: Writings. New York: The Library of America, 1984, pp. 959–964.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jefferson, Thomas. 1813. Letter of Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, June 24, 1813, reprinted in Thomas Jefferson: Writings. New York: The Library of America, 1984, pp. 1280–1281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, Immanuel. 1952a. Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals. Great Books of the Western World, Volume 42, Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, pp. 251–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, Immanuel. 1952b. General Introduction to the Metaphysics of Morals. Great Books of the Western World, Volume 42, Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, pp. 381–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, Immanuel. 1952c. Preface and Introduction to the Metaphysical Elements of Ethics. Great Books of the Western World, Volume 42, Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, pp. 363–379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, Immanuel. 1983. Ethical Philosophy, James W. Ellington, translator. Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company. Latinobarómetro. www.latinobarometro.org.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehmkuhl, A. 1902. Theologia Moralis I, as cited in Martin T. Crowe, The Moral Obligation of Paying Just Taxes, The Catholic University of America Studies in Sacred Theology No. 84, 1944 at p. 76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leiker, Bret H. 1998. Rousseau and the Legitimacy of Tax Evasion. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(1): 45–57, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 89–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, John. 1679. Two Treatises on Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1994a. Is Tax Evasion Unethical? University of Kansas Law Review 42(2): 411–435. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=74420.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1994b. A Trade Policy for Free Societies: The Case against Protectionism. New York and Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1997. The Ethics of Tax Evasion and Trade Protectionism from an Islamic Perspective, Commentaries on Law & Public Policy 1: 250–262. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=461397.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W., editor. 1998a. The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1998b. The Ethics of Tax Evasion in Islam: A Comment. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(2): 162–168, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 214–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1998c. Christian Views on The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(2): 210–225. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=461398.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1998d. Jewish Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 323–336. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=461399.

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1998e. Ethical Views on Tax Evasion among Swedish CEOs: A Comment. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 460–467. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=713903.

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1998f. Is the Ability to Pay Principle Ethically Bankrupt? Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 503–511. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=713901.

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1998g. Are Discriminatory Tax Rates Ethically Justifiable? Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(4): 527–534. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=713902.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1999a. Is It Unethical to Evade Taxes in an Evil or Corrupt State? A Look at Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Mormon and Baha’i Perspectives. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(1): 149–181. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=251469.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1999b. Is It Unethical to Evade the Estate Tax? Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(2): 266–285. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=242536.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1999c. An Ethical Look at Paying Your “Fair Share” of Taxes. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(2): 318–328. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=242549.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1999d. Tariffs as a Form of Taxation: Is Evasion Unethical? Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(2): 376–385. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=242565.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1999e. Why People Evade Taxes in Armenia: A Look at an Ethical Issue Based on a Summary of Interviews. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(2): 408–416. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=242568.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1999f. Is It Unethical to Evade the Capital Gains Tax? Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(3): 567–581. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=251491.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 1999g. Is It Unethical to Evade the Social Security Tax? Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 2(3): 585–596. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=242507.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 2003. Trade Policy as Corporate Welfare: The Case of the U.S. Steel Industry. In Jerry Biberman and Abbass F. Alkhafaji, editors, Business Research Yearbook: Global Business Perspectives, Volume X, Saline, MI: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., 2003, pp. 585–589. A longer version of this manuscript was presented at the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the International Academy of Business Disciplines, Orlando, Florida, April 3–6, 2003. Reprinted at http://ssrn.com/abstract=410817.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 2004. The Philosophy of Taxation and Public Finance. Boston, Dordrecht and London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. 2005. The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of International Business Academics. Presented at the 60th International Atlantic Economic Conference, New York, October 6–9, 2005. Also available at www.ssrn.com.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W. and Christopher Lingle. 2005. The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Guatemalan Opinion. Presented at the 60th International Atlantic Economic Conference, New York, October 6–9, 2005. Also available at www.ssrn.com.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGee, Robert W., Inge Nickerson and Werner Fees. 2005. The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of German Business Students. 2005 International Conference of the Academy of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, Las Vegas, October 12–15, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGraw, Kathleen M. and John T. Scholz. 1991. Appeals to Civic Virtue Versus Attention to Self-interest: Effects on Tax Compliance. Law and Society Review 25(3): 471–498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morales, Alfonso. 1998. Income Tax Compliance and Alternative Views of Ethics and Human Nature. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 380–399, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 242–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murtuza, Athar and S.M. Ghazanfar. 1998. Taxation as a Form of Worship: Exploring the Nature of Zakat. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(2): 134–161, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 190–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nylén, Ulrica. 1998. Ethical Views on Tax Evasion among Swedish CEOs. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 435–459, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 260–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliva, Robert R. 1998. The Schism between Tax Practitioners’ Ethical and Legal Obligations: Recommendations for the Fusion of Law and Ethics. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(4): 603–628, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 350–371.

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Pennock, Robert T. 1998. Death and Taxes: On the Justice of Conscientious War Tax Resistance. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(1): 58–76, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 124–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preobragenskaya, Galina G. and Robert W. McGee. 2004. Taxation and Public Finance in a Transition Economy: A Case Study of Russia. In Carolyn Gardner, Jerry Biberman and Abbass Alkhafaji, editors, Business Research Yearbook: Global Business Perspectives Volume XI, Saline, MI: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., 2004, pp. 254–258. A longer version, which was presented at the Sixteenth Annual Conference of the International Academy of Business Disciplines in San Antonio, March 25–28, 2004, is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=480862

    Google Scholar 

  • Rand, Ayn. 1968. For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. New York: New American Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reckers, Philip M.J., Debra L. Sanders and Stephen J. Roark. 1994. The Influence of Ethical Attitudes on Taxpayer Compliance. National Tax Journal 47(4): 825–836.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, Jean Jacques. 1762. The Social Contract.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowley, Charles K., Robert D. Tollison and Gordon Tullock, editors. 1988. The Political Economy of Rent-Seeking. Boston, Dordrecht and Lancaster: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schansberg, D. Eric. 1998. The Ethics of Tax Evasion Within Biblical Christianity: Are There Limits to “Rendering Unto Caesar”? Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(1): 77–90, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 144–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smatrakalev, Gueorgui. 1998. Walking on the Edge: Bulgaria and the Transition to a Market Economy. In Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 316–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Sheldon R. and Kevin C. Kimball. 1998. Tax Evasion and Ethics: A Perspective from Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(3): 337–348, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 220–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spooner, Lysander. 1870. No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority, originally self-published by Spooner in Boston in 1870, reprinted by Rampart College in 1965, 1966 and 1971, and by Ralph Myles Publisher, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamari, Meir. 1998. Ethical Issues in Tax Evasion: A Jewish Perspective. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy 1(2): 121–132, reprinted in Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 168–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torgler, Benno. 2003. Tax Morale: Theory and Empirical Analysis of Tax Compliance. Dissertation der Universität Basel zur Erlangung der Würde eines Doktors der Staatswissenschaften.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trenchard, John and Thomas Gordon. 1965. Cato’s Letters, no. 59, in D.L. Jacobson, editor, The English Libertarian Heritage. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965, p. 108, as cited in Murray N. Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty. New York and London: New York University Press, 1998, p. 147, n. 17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tullock, Gordon. 1970. Private Wants, Public Means: An Economic Analysis of the Desirable Scope of Government. New York: Basic Books. Reprinted by University Press of America, in 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tullock, Gordon. 1983. Welfare for the Well-To-Do. Dallas: The Fisher Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tullock, Gordon. 1989. The Economics of Special Privilege and Rent Seeking. Boston, Dordrecht and London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaguine, Vladimir V. 1998. The “Shadow Economy” and Tax Evasion in Russia. In Robert W. McGee, editor, The Ethics of Tax Evasion. Dumont, NJ: The Dumont Institute for Public Policy Research, 1998, pp. 306–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Broeck, Julien, editor. 1988. Public Choice. Dordrecht, Boston & London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yusuf, S.M. 1971. Economic Justice in Islam. Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

(2006). The Ethics of Tax Evasion: A Survey of Romanian Business Students and Faculty. In: Accounting and Financial Systems Reform in Eastern Europe and Asia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-25710-1_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation