Accounting and tax compliance behaviours of ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs: a New Zealand perspective

The influx of immigrants in most developed nations within the English speaking world has resulted in culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Despite this, government policies within these developed nations have remained largely Anglo with little regard for the growing cultural diversity and the difficulty ethnic groups have in effectively assimilating into the broader host culture. This paper examines the existing tax policies and tax administration in New Zealand and their effect on ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs’ accounting and tax behaviours. With sparse accounting and tax research on race and culture, there is much to be gained from an in-depth qualitative study on the tax practices and perceptions of ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs in New Zealand. The study found that differences in tax practices and perceptions by ethnic and indigenous entrepreneurs are related to differences in their cultural values. The findings warrant further attention from accountants, academics, the business community, policy makers in terms of accounting and tax education, tax administration, tax assistance and tax regulation