DRIVERS OF TAX COMPLIANCE AMONG SELF-EMPLOYED IN GHANA

Abstract

Tax revenues are important to government, thus tax authorities ensure tax compliance to provide sufficient revenue for government. This paper therefore investigated the extent to which institutional factors, economic factors, individual factors and social factors drives tax compliance among self-employed in Northern Ghana. The paper used a quantitative survey design, convenience sampling technique & questionnaire as primary data collection instrument. A total of 361 self-employed were engaged from three Northern regions (Upper East, Upper West and Northern region) in Ghana for the study. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze four main hypotheses of the study. The study result therefore showed a positive significant influence of economic drivers, individual drivers & social drivers on tax compliance behaviour. While the paper found no significant influence of institutional drivers on tax compliance, social drivers were found to strongly influence tax compliance behaviour. The paper concludes that, social drivers strongly influence tax compliance behaviour among selfemployed. The paper contributes to practice & policy by revealing that tax compliance behaviour in Northern Ghana particularly rural communities has assumed a social dimension. Government must therefore include and encourage religious heads, opinion leaders and social groups to use social events to educate members by shaping their attitudes, perceptions and orientation towards tax compliance. Future study may extent these compliance drivers in Southern Ghana, and comparative study to expand understanding and make informed tax decisions.