Recent public outcries in South Africa signalling dissatisfaction suggest that the country could be on the brink of a tax revolution, says the writer.
Tax revolts date back to biblical times. Throughout the ages they have exhibited similar symptoms of a decline in taxpayer morale and confidence in a government’s ability to manage public finances for the greater good of its citizens.
Recent public outcries in South Africa signalling dissatisfaction and concerns over the management of public finances suggest that the country could be on the brink of a tax revolution. While taxpayers have a civic duty to be tax compliant they are not donating taxes in an effort to be altruistic. There is an expectation of a return in some form. Recent events suggest that South Africans are becoming increasingly restive about paying taxes to a government mired in allegations of corruption. This explains why sentiments of a tax rebellion are growing.
In a recently published paper I reviewed some of the literature on tax compliance. My aim was to establish the theoretical point where tax compliance shifts to resistance. I also extended my analysis to South Africa by extrapolating the legal implications of a tax revolt. The study found that the fine line between tax compliance and resistance lies where government creates an equitable distribution between collective costs and benefits. Often the threat of a tax revolt is a measure to renegotiate the terms of a fair exchange and a mechanism to mobilise the association that disintegrated between taxpayers and government.
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