The ethics of tax evasion: An Islamic perspective

Abstract

Tax structures, tax systems, and tax policies are among the most important factors affecting economic and social affairs of any society. At the same time, the public's reaction to them, specifi cally the public attitudes regarding tax evasion and tax avoidance, can substantially infl uence these systems and policies to the point of either facilitating and promoting or undermining and defeating their original purposes and intentions. In all societies, while tax avoidance is permitted, evasion of taxes is illegal. Tax evasion, however, is probably a practice as old as taxation itself (Adams, 1993). The relevant point, nonetheless, is when if ever, different people evade taxation and view their behavior to be ethically justifi ed. A correlated question is determination of the degree that culture or ideology infl uences attitudes toward tax evasion.