Behavior of Moroccan SMEs in the face of tax audits: Case of tax fraud

Abstract

This article focuses on the tax evasion behavior of SMEs in the face of tax audits. This study seeks to establish the link between two variables, and explains the effect of one on the other. The effect of tax audit on tax evasion in SMEs was the subject of a qualitative research based on two methods of data analysis, namely the analysis of the documentary content and the analysis of the content of interviews conducted with tax advisors of SMEs and some tax auditors of the regional tax directorate of Marrakech.

The main results that emerged showed the ineffectiveness of tax control in the fight against tax fraud in SMEs, it remains focused on financial performance. The informal sector, the specificities of the SME, and the amicable agreements of the tax control prove to be the factors stimulating the propagation of deviant behaviors. A partnership relationship between the FA and the SME and an efficient tax audit that supports the SME are necessary to converge the behavior of SMEs towards voluntary tax compliance, because in order to change behavior, one must first understand its motivations.

 This study has limitations, thus, on the theoretical level we are faced with complex phenomena to study that requires the mobilization of several disciplines (Management Science, Sociology, and Psychology ...). Moreover, we have noted a scarcity of. While on the empirical level, the non-exhaustiveness of the study and the narrowness of the sample make the generalization of the results far from being possible. Consequently, our exploratory study can be the initiation of another confirmatory quantitative study to measure the effect of the tax audit on tax evasion, and to validate our theoretical results, so it would be judicious to carry out a study with SME managers who have experienced the tax audit in order to better understand these behaviors and to identify the shortcomings of the entrepreneurs' point of view.

Keywords:  Behavior, Tax fraud, Tax audit, SME.

JEL classification: H83

Paper Type: Empirical Research