TRUST IN TAX AUTHORITIES, TAXPAYER AWARENESS, AND TAXPAYER COMPLIANCE – EVIDENCE FROM MICRO AND SMALL ORGANIZATIONS IN EAST TIMOR

This study investigates the relationships between trust in tax authorities, taxpayer awareness, and taxpayer compliance of small businesses in Dili, East Timor. This is an important issue because it can help governmental bodies, particularly the tax administration, to understand taxpayers' perspective about the tax system and regulations, as well as to create transparency and cultivate trust between taxpayers and tax authorities. To explore these relationships, a survey, targeting business owners, was manually distributed. Survey data was analysed using regression analysis. The findings of this study show that trust in tax authorities is positively associated with taxpayer compliance. Conversely, taxpayer awareness is only partially positively associated with taxpayer compliance. Specifically, taxpayer awareness regarding tax rate and tax reporting is positively related to taxpayer compliance, but no statistically significant relationship is found between taxpayer awareness regarding tax audit and penalties and taxpayer compliance.