The New Fiscal Sociology : A Study of Universal Self-Assessment Taxpayers in Bangladesh

Economists and sociologists recognize taxation as an important element of the life of individuals. As the tax system and policies of each country reflect the characteristics of the country's social, political, cultural and economic structure, tax systems differ according to the characteristics of the structure of the society. The study is aimed to investigate the ethical, moral, religious, gender, educational and cultural background considerations on individual voluntary tax compliance whose main income is from business, salaries and other sources. This is a cross-sectional quantitative study. The survey was conducted on 385 respondents’ individual taxpayers within the capital city of Dhaka in 2020. Necessary statistical tests including multiple regression analysis were used in this study. Findings show that ethicality and educational background have a direct significant effect on the individual tax compliance among the taxpayers whose main income is from business, salaries and other sources. However, gender, religious, morality and cultural background do not have significant effect in this relationship. It is believed this study will significantly contribute to the body of knowledge in the areas of voluntary tax compliance