Managing taxation compliance: The evolution of the ATO Compliance Model 1

Two decades of empirical work on tax compliance has produced awareness of the complexity of tax compliant and non-compliant behaviour. Tax compliance itself is now recognized as a multi-faceted construct (Webley, Robben, Elffers, and Hessing, 1991). More than a dozen constructs have been implicated with some regularity as explanatory variables in analyses of tax compliant behaviour (Jackson and Milliron, 1986). Furthermore, theoretical perspectives from a range of academic disciplines have been brought to bear on understanding the phenomenon and integrating the smorgasbord of findings (Cullis and Lewis, 1997; Webley, Robben, Elffers, and Hessing, 1991). In the midst of enormous diversity, a notably consistent theme over the past two decades of tax research has been deterrence. A vast body of research has focused on identifying the costs, be they material, social or psychological, which would deter would-be tax evaders, and counter the lure of the benefits of evasion. A preoccupation with identifying costs and benefits with the goal of developing a risk profile for tax collection agencies has meant that less attention has been directed toward managing non-compliance once it has occurred. This paper questions th