Perceptions of tax fairness and tax compliance in Australia and Hong Kong ‐ a preliminary study

Discusses how important perceptions of tax fairness can be in forming tax‐compliant behaviour in various jurisdictions, based on a crosscultural study of Australia and Hong Kong. Defines fairness and its relationship with legitimacy. Describes a tax survey questionnaire administered to business students, which is broken down by demographic data and includes extensive correlations between tax‐fairness perception and tax‐compliance behaviour. Concludes that legitimacy is a crucial normative influence in shaping how fair tax systems are perceived to be and how likely people are to comply with their tax obligations.