TITLE:
Tax Evasion in Small and Micro Greek Firms in the Light of the Economic Recession
AUTHORS:
George Drogalas, Evgenia Anagnostopoulou, Michail Pazarskis, Sotirios Galeas
KEYWORDS:
Tax Evasion, Small and Micro Firms, Public Administration, Economic Recession
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.8 No.2,
February
6,
2018
ABSTRACT: Reducing tax evasion has been among the top
priorities of the Greek public administration especially during the last years
of the economic recession. The purpose of this study is to examine the level of
tax evasion of Greek small and micro firms and how it is affected by the
inefficiency of the Public Administration, the negative economic environment
and various negative psychological factors. We examine different economic
sectors but focus on the retail sale of goods and services. The research
hypotheses, regarding the relationship between tax evasion and the above
factors are tested through a multiple linear regression model developed for
this study. Factor analysis was used to construct the variables used in our
model. Our results show that tax evasion is positively affected by the
inefficiency of public administration in determining the appropriate rate of
tax, in simplifying the complexity of laws and establishing an effective
justice system. Finally, the hypothesis regarding the relationship between tax
evasion and economic factors is rejected while the hypothesis regarding the
relationship between tax evasion and psychological factors is marginally
accepted.