Minjo Kang

accompanied by unintended consequences. The absence of clear communication and the failure to make reasonable enquiries when information or documentation provided by a client appears to be inaccurate or incomplete [62] tend to engender the disappointment in their tax

Tax practitioner self-seeking behavior together with compliance cost can afford unique opportunities to explore taxpayer decision. Tax law complexity increases the cost of compliance, and compliance costs are widely regarded as high. For the part of taxpayers, it may seem unfair to hire a tax professional in order to understand the laws. Taxpayers may expect their compliance cost to be offset by the tax service. If they deem the service fee as a mere expense accompanied by no additional benefit, they will be likely to be more aggressive in order to restore equitable condition. For instance, Jackson et al. [63] well demonstrated how taxpayers and tax practitioners decisions are interrelated. Drawing on mental accounting theory, they postulate mental aggregation of preparation cost with taxes, and tax professionals may place their clients in positive prepayment positions. The concept of mental accounting derived from research on prospect theory describes the set of cognitive operations used by individuals to organize, evaluate, and keep track of financial activities [64]. Then, they provide evidence that tax return preparation fees are larger for taxpayers who receive tax refunds than for taxpayers who owe additional taxes. It is argued that compliance costs paid to the tax preparer and the expected tax refund occur in the same mental account. Thus, taxpayers who have a favorable mental representation of tax return preparation fees may be willing to pay for higher costs

In this chapter, I attempt to distinguish tax practitioner compliance from taxpayer compliance for a better understanding of tax compliance process. And I maintain that tax practitioner behavior can be assessed in the light of tax compliance, bringing about new perspective on tax compliance literature. As the extent and nature of tax practice are highly relevant to tax compliance, it is worthwhile to investigate the meaning of tax compliance in relation to tax

As in taxpayer compliance, tax practitioner compliance can be either inadvertent or intentional. Tax practitioner noncompliance results the lack of professional competence and objectivity. Nevertheless, it is somehow inevitable for them to make mistakes due in part to the inherent uncertainty and ambiguity of the tax legislation. In order for them to ensure compliance, the tax practitioners continue to develop their professional skills; they must stay knowledgeable about current tax issues that have impact, positively or negatively, on their clients. Furthermore, the tax practitioner should be responsive to the environment in terms of both what clients want as well as what tax laws allow. However, their ethical judgment based on

In return for their prestige, professions have certain obligations to their clients, colleagues, and the society [65]. For the meaning of tax compliance must include both compliance with the

professional proficiency should not be affected by client pressure.

service experienced.

238 Taxes and Taxation Trends

incurred by tax practitioners.

practitioner compliance behavior.

**6. Conclusion**

Address all correspondence to: minjokang@yonsei.ac.kr

CPA, School of Business, Yonsei University, Korea
