Factors affecting tax preparation errors made by tax professionals in Malaysia

• Main Author: Loh, Chik Im
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: HJ4771.6 Income Tax. Tax Returns.
• Online Access: https://etd.uum.edu.my/8650/1/s814854_01.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/8650/2/s814854_02.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/8650/3/s814854_references.docx; https://etd.uum.edu.my/8650/

Tax professionals have an important role in the tax system as both advocate for their clients and intermediary for the tax authorities. However, the audit statistics on tax returns preparation shows a tax gap of more than RM5 billion in the tax returns prepared by the tax professionals. This study proposes the influence of ethics, co-worker support, work engagement, perceived behavioural control, self-recognition, working experience and ethnicity of tax professionals on tax preparation errors made by tax professionals. The current study‟s sample comprises 359 tax professionals from throughout Malaysia, drawn using the convenient sampling technique. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analysed using multiple regression analysis. The results of the analysis show that ethics, co-worker support, work engagement, perceived behavioural control, self-recognition and working experience have a significant influence on tax preparation errors. However, ethnicity of tax professionals has an insignificant influence on tax preparation errors. The findings of the current study suggest that corporate taxpayers and the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) should appreciate the good work of tax professionals and recognise their efforts in preparing error-free tax returns. In tax returns preparation, co-workers/peers should support and help each other to review the tax returns before sending to their clients or the IRBM. This study highlights the potential contribution of tax professionals in corporate tax returns preparation with a focus on the errors made by them. The result of the study can be helpful for tax professionals, corporate taxpayers and the IRBM to understand the factors that can cause errors in tax returns preparation. The results of the study can also be helpful for tax professionals to identify the factors that can help them to reduce errors in tax returns preparation.