Opinions and attitudes of accounting professionals towards tax amnesties: The case of Erzincan province

Tax amnesties are one of the fiscal policy instruments used to facilitate the collection of public receivables and to restore taxpayers’ compliance with the tax system. However, the repeated implementation of tax amnesties may lead to significant problems in terms of tax fairness, voluntary tax compliance, and taxpayers’ expectations of future tax amnesties. The aim of this study is to determine the views and attitudes of accounting professionals towards tax amnesties and to examine whether these views differ according to various demographic characteristics. In line with this objective, the study was conducted based on survey data obtained from 83 accounting professionals operating in Erzincan. The data obtained from the study were analyzed using the SPSS software, and descriptive statistics, normality tests, Exploratory Factor Analysis, reliability analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test were employed. The factor analysis revealed that the views on tax amnesties were grouped into three dimensions. It was found that the strongest perception among the participants concerned the dimension of “Financial and Administrative Effects.” While no statistically significant differences were found according to professional title, gender, age, or professional experience, a statistically significant difference was identified according to educational level only in the dimension of “Effects on Taxpayers and the Economy.” The findings indicate that tax amnesties should be evaluated not only in terms of their short-term fiscal effects but also with regard to their implications for tax fairness and tax compliance, and that tax amnesty practices should be limited to exceptional circumstances.