Determinants of taxpayer compliance in paying motor vehicle tax in an emerging country

Abstract

This research aims to determine the effect of electronic Samsat (e-Samsat), public service accountability, tax penalty, vehicle tax relief program, and moral obligation on taxpayer compliance in paying motor vehicle tax at the Samsat Office in Bekasi City. Data collection was conducted by spreading questionnaires to the motor vehicle taxpayer in Bekasi City with a sample amounted to 130 respondents. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM) method with partial least square (PLS) approach. The result of the analysis and hypothesis testing showed that e-Samsat, public service accountability, tax penalty, vehicle tax relief program, and moral obligation have a positive and significant effect on taxpayer compliance in paying motor vehicle tax. The results of this study are in accordance with the attribution theory where a person’s behavior is influenced by external factors, namely, behavior caused from outside the taxpayer, and in accordance with the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which states that a person’s behavior can be caused by three factors, namely control belief is a belief about the existence of things — things that support or hinder a person’s behavior and how strongly they support or hinder a person’s behavior (Ajzen, 1991)