Tax audit between effectiveness and performance: A literature review

Abstract

Tax audits are an essential tool for ensuring that taxpayers comply with their tax obligations, combating fraud, and securing government tax revenues. However, it is not enough for audits to be effective; they must also be performant. This dilemma between effectiveness and performance is a key concern for modern tax administrations. The objective of this research is to clarify, through a narrative review of the literature, the concepts of effectiveness and performance in tax audits and to demonstrate the importance of tax audit effectiveness for any tax administration in achieving its ultimate goal of taxpayer compliance and minimizing levels of tax fraud and evasion. This research contributes to the literature on performance in the tax field by demonstrating that tax audit performance is a systemic concept, where effectiveness is is only one lever among others.

Classification JEL: H11, H83, M42

Paper type: Theoretical Research