Rich or Poor: Experimental Evidence on the Self-Validation Hypothesis and Tax Compliance Behavior

Nur Anita; Hutomo Atman Maulana; Frida Fanani Rohma

doi:10.24843/EJA.2025.v35.i10.p16

Authors

Nur Anita Politeknik Negeri Bengkalis
Hutomo Atman Maulana IPB University
Frida Fanani Rohma Universitas Trunojoyo Madura

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24843/EJA.2025.v35.i10.p16

Keywords:

Income Level, Self-Validation Hypothesis, Tax, Tax Compliance

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the influence of the self-validation hypothesis on tax compliance, considering whether individual income is high or low. This research uses an experimental method with a 22 factorial design. The participants in the experiment were students of public financial accounting at the Politeknik Negeri Bengkalis. Through the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) theory, this research helps explain why tax messages have different impacts on various groups of people. Interestingly, the research findings indicate that individuals with high incomes are more likely to comply with taxes compared to those with low incomes. To improve tax compliance, the government must design communication strategies tailored to taxpayers' levels of motivation and cognitive capacity.

References

Abbu, H., Haron, H., & Foy, J. (2016). Effects of persuasion on tax compliance: Message strength and tax preparer persuasiveness [Conference paper].

Adem, M., Desta, T., & Girma, B. (2024). Determinants of tax compliance behavior: A case study in Ethiopia. SAGE Open, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241292869

Alm, J. (1991). A perspective on the experimental analysis of taxpayer reporting. The Accounting Review, 66(3), 577–593.

Alm, J., & Torgler, B. (2011). Do ethics matter? Tax compliance and morality. Journal of Business Ethics, 101(4), 635–651. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0761-9

Anderhub, V., Giese, S., Guth, W., Hoffmann, A., & Otto, T. (2001). Tax evasion with earned income – An experimental study. FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, 58(2), 188–206.

Becker, G. S. (1968). Crime and punishment: An economic approach. Journal of Political Economy, 76(2), 169–217. https://doi.org/10.1086/259394

Blumenthal, M., Christian, C., & Slemrod, J. (2001). Do normative appeals affect tax compliance? Evidence from a controlled experiment in Minnesota. National Tax Journal, 54(1), 125–138.

Boedker, C., & Chua, W. F. (2013). Accounting as an affective technology: A study of circulation, agency and entrancement. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 38(4), 245–267.

Boylan, S. J. (2010). Prior audits and taxpayer compliance: Experimental evidence on the effect of earned versus endowed income. Journal of the American Taxation Association (Forthcoming). https://ssrn.com/abstract=1628148

Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2003). Overt head movements and persuasion: A self-validation analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1123–1139.

Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2009). Persuasion: Insights from the self-validation hypothesis. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 41, pp. 69–118). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)00402-0

Briñol, P., Petty, R. E., & Tormala, Z. L. (2004). Self-validation of cognitive responses to advertisements. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(4), 559–573. https://doi.org/10.1086/380289

Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2022). Self-validation theory: An integrative framework for understanding when thoughts become consequential. Psychological Review, 129(2), 340–367. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000340

Briñol, P., Petty, R. E., Moreno, L., & Gandarillas, B. (2023). Self-validation theory: Confidence can increase but also decrease performance in applied settings. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 26, Article e5. https://doi.org/10.1017/SJP.2023.5

Cahyonowati, N., Ratmono, D., & Juliarto, A. (2022). The moderating role of social norms on tax compliance model: A laboratory experimental evidence in Indonesia. Contemporary Economics, 16(4), 410–423. https://doi.org/10.5709/ce.1897-9254.491

Castro, L., & Scartascini, C. (2015). Tax compliance and enforcement in the Pampas: Evidence from a field experiment. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 116, 65–82.

Chung, J., & Trivedi, V. U. (2003). The effect of friendly persuasion and gender on tax compliance behaviour. Journal of Business Ethics, 47, 133–145.

Clark, J. K., Wegener, D. T., Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2009). Discovering that the shoe fits: The self-validating role of stereotypes. Psychological Science, 20(7), 846–852.

Collins, J. H., & Plumlee, R. D. (1991). The taxpayer’s labor and reporting decision: The effect of audit schemes. The Accounting Review, 66(3), 579–556.

Crivelli, E., De Mooij, R. A., & Keen, M. (2017). Corruption, taxes and compliance (IMF Working Paper No. 17/270). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781484330400.001

Cullis, J., & Lewis, A. (1997). Why people pay taxes: From a conventional economic model to a model of social convention. Journal of Economic Psychology, 18(2–3), 305–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(97)00001-8

Dulleck, U., Fooken, J., Newton, C., Ristl, A., Schaffner, M., & Torgler, B. (2016). Tax compliance and psychic costs: Behavioral experimental evidence using a physiological marker. Journal of Public Economics, 134, 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2015.12.007

Engida, T. G., & Baisa, G. A. (2014). Factors influencing taxpayers’ compliance with the tax system: An empirical study in Mekelle City, Ethiopia. eJournal of Tax Research, 12(2), 433–452. https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/research-site/publications-site/ejournaloftaxresearch-site

Faizal, S. M., Palil, M. R., Maelah, R., & Ramli, R. (2017). Perception on justice, trust and tax compliance behavior in Malaysia. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 38(3), 226–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2016.10.002

Fauziah, N., Alkautsar, M., Suryaman, Y., & Roji, F. F. (2024). Analisis sentimen publik terhadap kenaikan tarif PPN di Indonesia dengan pendekatan VADER. Jurnal Akuntansi dan Keuangan (JAK), 12(2), 228–238.

Fochmann, M., Hechtner, F., Kirchler, E., & Mohr, P. N. C. (2025). When happy people make society unhappy: Emotions affect tax compliance behavior. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 229, 1–23.

Frey, B. S., & Torgler, B. (2007). Tax morale and conditional cooperation. Journal of Comparative Economics, 35(1), 136–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2006.10.006

Frank, C. (1985). Tax amnesties: 10 states reap windfalls. ABA Journal, 71(2), 20.

James, S., & Alley, C. (2002). Tax compliance, self-assessment and tax administration. Journal of Finance and Management in Public Services, 2, 27–42.

Kirchler, E., Hoelzl, E., & Wahl, I. (2008). Enforced versus voluntary tax compliance: The “slippery slope” framework. Journal of Economic Psychology, 29(2), 210–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2007.05.004

Kumparan. (2025). Penerimaan pajak 2024 hanya capai 97,2 persen dari target. https://kumparan.com/kumparanbisnis/penerimaan-pajak-di-2024-tak-capai-target-di-2025-diprediksi-tambah-berat-24FvINSXMuo

Kustiawan, M., Zulhaimi, H., & Solikin, I. (2018). Strategic effort to improve tax compliance. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Economics, Business, Entrepreneurship, and Finance (ICEBEF 2018). Atlantis Press.

Mauro, P., Medas, P., & Poghosyan, T. (2019). The true cost of global corruption. Finance & Development, 56(3). International Monetary Fund. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2019/09/the-true-cost-of-global-corruption-mauro

McGee, R. W., & Maranjyan, T. B. (2006). Tax evasion in Armenia: An empirical study. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://ssrn.com/abstract=869309 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.869309

McGraw, K., & Scholz, J. T. (1991). Appeals to civic virtue versus attention to self-interest: Effect on tax compliance. Law & Society Review, 25(3), 471–498.

Palil, M. R., Malek, M. M., & Jaguli, A. R. (2016). Issues, challenges and problems with tax evasion: The institutional factors approach. Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business, 18(2), 187–206.

Pandoyo. (2025). Tax avoidance and evasion: Trends, challenges, and policy solutions. Sinergi International Journal of Accounting and Taxation, 3(1), 54–66. https://journal.sinergi.or.id/index.php/ijat/article/view/487

Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 123–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60214-2

Petty, R. E., & Briñol, P. (2008). Persuasion: From single to multiple to metacognitive processes. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(2), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00071.x

Piff, P. K., Stancato, D. M., Côté, S., Mendoza-Denton, R., & Keltner, D. (2012). Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(11), 4086–4091. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118373109

Pihany, A. W., & Andriani, S. (2022). Tax morale, religiusitas, dan sanksi pajak terhadap tax compliance pada WPOP di Organisasi Nahdlatul Wathan. Ekonomi, Keuangan, Investasi dan Syariah (EKUITAS), 3(4). https://doi.org/10.47065/ekuitas.v3i4.1562

Piper, J. (Ed.). (2022). Public trust in tax: Global perspectives 2022 (Survey report). Association of Chartered Certified Accountants & International Federation of Accountants. https://www.ifac.org/knowledge-gateway/ethics/publications/public-trust-tax-global-perspectives-2022

Prastiwi, D., & Diamastuti, E. (2023). Building trust and enhancing tax compliance: The role of authoritarian procedures and respectful treatment in Indonesia. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 16(8).

Rosid, A., Evans, C., & Tran-Nam, B. (2018). Tax non-compliance and perceptions of corruption: Policy implications for developing countries. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 54(1), 25–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2017.1364349

Roth, J. A., Scholz, J. T., & Witte, A. D. (1989). Taxpayer compliance, Vol. 1: An agenda for research. University of Pennsylvania Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9781512806274

Saad, N. (2012). Tax non-compliance behavior: Taxpayers' view. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 65, 344–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.11.127

Steele, C. M. (1988). The psychology of self-affirmation: Sustaining the integrity of the self. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 21, pp. 261–302). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60229-4

Supriyati. (2017). Tantangan demokratisasi dalam upaya meningkatkan kepatuhan wajib pajak. Jurnal Akuntansi Riset, 4(1), 15–22.

Sulastri, S., Andesto, R., & Oktris, L. (2023). The determinant of tax compliance in Indonesia (experience in e-commerce environment). Journal Research of Social Science, Economics, and Management, 3(1), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.59141/jrssem.v3i1.523

Torgler, B. (2005). Tax morale in Latin America. Public Choice, 122(1/2), 133–157.

Torgler, B. (2003). To evade taxes or not to evade: That is the question. Journal of Socio-Economics, 32(3), 283–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1053-5357(03)00040-

Trifan, V. A., Szentesi, S. G., Cuc, L. D., & Pantea, M. F. (2023). Assessing tax compliance behavior among Romanian taxpayers: An empirical case study. SAGE Open, 13(3), Article 21582440231195676. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231195676

Wax, J. (1971). Power theory and institutional change. Social Service Review, 45(3), 274–288.

Wickramasinghe, A. D. M. P., & Kumara, M. M. D. D. (2020). The impact of income on tax compliance: The empirical evidence from small and medium taxpayers of Sri Lanka. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 10(11), 472–477. https://doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.10.11.2020.p10755

Yunita, E., & Anita, N. (2023). The effectiveness of the voluntary disclosure program in enhancing voluntary compliance among individual taxpayers. Reksa: Rekayasa Keuangan, Syariah dan Audit, 10(2). https://journal2.uad.ac.id/index.php/reksa/article/view/8527