Assessing the Effect of Taxpayer Education Programs in Enhancing Tax Compliance in The Case of Addis Ababa Taxpayers
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Date
2024-06-01
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A.A.U
Abstract
Tax compliance is crucial for generating government revenue, which in turn supports public services and
infrastructure. However, in Ethiopia, a significant challenge remains in non-compliance, often due to a lack
of understanding or awareness of tax obligations. This is because the tax education program provides limited
comprehensive knowledge and inadequate outreach to the taxpayers. Therefore, this study aims to assess the
effect of tax education programs on enhancing tax compliance, focusing on general, legal, and procedural
tax knowledge provided to taxpayers, as well as the methods used to reach information to the taxpayers in
the Addis Ababa Medium regional taxpayers. The research design adopted was an explanatory research
design based on closed-ended and unstructured interviews conducted with each branch of the tax education
department managers to gain an in-depth understanding and a sample of 330 out of 390 participating
taxpayers in the education program was used in this study, employing purposive and clustering sampling
techniques to select from each medium region tax branch found in Addis Ababa, The findings indicate a
statistically positive effect of general tax knowledge, legal tax knowledge, procedural tax knowledge, and
outreach methods prepared by the tax branches in enhancing taxpayer compliance level. Based on the
analysis of questionnaires and interviews with the taxpayers, the research recommends a widespread
presence on social media. The tax authority should increase engagement on platforms like Telegram and
Facebook, providing regular updated information and interactive sessions. Additionally, the tax authority of
the medium taxpayers should partner with universities and colleges to incorporate tax education, and the
education program supervisory framework should be implemented to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness
of these programs regularly.