Explaining the Role of Religious Beliefs, legal Deterrence, and Perceived Justice on Correct Tax Declaration

Authors
Mehrdad SadrAra 1
Hamed Omrani 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Faculty of Management and Economics, University of Guilan, Iran.(Corresponding Author)
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, University of Kharazmi, Iran. Omrani86@Gmail.com
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the simultaneous effect of religious beliefs, legal deterrence, and perceptual justice on correct tax declaration in the Iranian tax declaration system. Based on the theoretical framework of behavioral economics and sociology of religion, the present study seeks to fill the gap in the country's tax literature, which is mainly focused on technical and legal aspects. The research is descriptive-correlational in nature, and data were collected through a standardized questionnaire from a sample of 775 taxpayers nationwide during the period 1402 to 1404. The findings show that while monitoring and penalty mechanisms have a significant effect on correct tax declaration, value and religious factors, including Islamic beliefs, participation in religious ceremonies, and the perception of guilt from tax violations, have not been able to play a significant role in correct tax declaration. These results indicate the existence of a gap between promoted religious values ​​and the actual performance of the country's tax system. From a theoretical perspective, the present study presents a hybrid model for analyzing tax behavior in the cultural context of Iran, and from a practical perspective, it highlights the need to review tax policies with an emphasis on strengthening social responsibility and reforming fair tax behavior towards taxpayers. The findings of this study, which confirm the determining role of fines versus the limited impact of religious and behavioral values ​​on tax compliance, will be helpful for policymakers and tax administrators in designing a more realistic incentive system, and for researchers in designing localized behavioral models.
Keywords
Perceptual Justice
legal Deterrence
Religious Beliefs
Declared Tax
Tax System
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Value and Behavioral Accounting
Volume 10, Issue 20
Winter 2025
Pages 251-283