Trust in Government and Perceptions of Tax Compliance among Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the adolescents’ views on trust in governmentvand the connection to their expected tax attitudes. Most of the previous studies investigated the nature and effect of trust in governments among adults and the views of adolescents are being neglected in tax compliance study. Their views should also be considered particularly in the recent development where youngsters in Malaysia are proposed to be given opportunity to decide a government as early as 18 years old and this might consequently affect the country’s tax attitudes pattern. Data was collected through paper-and-pencil questionnaires from 172 adolescents from several tuition centers in Klang Valley, to confirm that the factors that form trust in government and trust in government and perceptions of tax compliance among adolescents. The target group was adolescents between 13 to 19 years old. The findings of this study show that (1) there is a positive and statistically significant impact of fairness on trust in government, (2) there is no significant impact between transparent and trust in government, and (3) there is a positive and statistically significant impact of trust in government on perceptions of tax compliance among adolescents.