Compliance behaviour from the holistic human nature perspective

Purpose – Previous studies on tax compliance have not internally failed to consider why individuals avoid
tax payments. The purpose of this paper is to explore the compliance behaviour of Indonesian taxpayers from
holistic human nature perspectives including their rational, social and spiritual values.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts the tabayyun approach, an interpretive
conceptualised methodology using Islamic knowledge to explore taxpayers’ rational, social and spiritual realities.
Findings – Tax compliance is influenced by holistic factors: personal economic rational, social consensus
and spiritual beliefs. Rational taxpayers distrust tax authority and see tax payments as an economic decision
(i.e. costs and benefits) that reduces/increases wealth. So, they tend to avoid or reconfigure payments. Opposite
to economic rationally is the societal pressure upon taxpayers to converge to being an acceptable citizen with
legitimate businesses. Under this view, no mistrust against tax authority exists. As for the spiritual factor, tax
payments are seen as religious duties like zakat that ought to be paid for achieving spiritual alleviation.
Research limitations/implications – Due to the research approach, this study results may lack
generalisation. Future research can expand broader understanding of religious belief in corporation with
compliance behaviour.
Practical implications – In the tax policy context, this study recommends to take into consideration
religious levy being included in the tax system. This study also argues substituting tax with zakat. In
Indonesia, religious levy takes more essential roles in the spiritual domain rather than economical domain.
Social implications – It is difficult to expect tax compliance to be an internal compliance because the
source of the command is of an external origin. It is considered as a new concept of wealth distribution that
comes from an internal attribute. For states that have religious population as Indonesia, religious values
become communal bonds that more dominantly form self-identity at both physical and mental levels. Hence, it
is very essential for the state to consider the inclusion of religious values or teachings to the regulation, if the
state wants such regulation to be adhered significantly by people. The collection instrument whose bonds
originated in religious moral/spiritual values can raise the awareness and compliance voluntarily because the
command source is internal and autonomous.
Originality/value – This study fills the gaps in the taxation literature by incorporating a spiritual
perspective, instead of rational and social domains