​Moral and Religiosity on Tax Compliance: The Moderating Role of Tax Corruption Preference among Freelancers

Abstract

This study examines the effects of morality and religiosity on tax compliance among freelance individual taxpayers, with tax corruption preference as a moderating variable. A quantitative approach was employed using a Likert-scale questionnaire administered to 150 freelance taxpayers registered at Kantor Pelayanan Pajak/KPP Pratama Sleman, Yogyakarta. Respondents were selected through non-probability sampling, and data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS. Morality has a positive and significant effect on tax compliance, whereas religiosity has no significant direct effect. Tax corruption preference significantly and negatively affects tax compliance but does not significantly moderate the effects of morality or religiosity. The model explains 62.2% of the variance in tax compliance, increasing to 63.0% after including interaction terms. Tax corruption preference functions as an independent predictor of non-compliance rather than as a moderating condition affecting moral and religious influences. The study is limited to freelance taxpayers registered at a single tax office, which restricts the generalizability of the findings. This study contributes to tax compliance literature by positioning tax corruption preference as a direct behavioral predictor and extending compliance models beyond moral and religious factors. The findings also provide practical implications for character-based approaches to improving taxpayer compliance.

Keywords

Freelance Individual Taxpayer Morality Religiosity SEM-PLS Tax Compliance Tax Corruption Preference