P135 Personal Tax Avoidance Orientation Among Future Accountants: Exploratory Evidence From Malaysia And Indonesia

Abstract

Tax behaviour researches have predominantly focused on tax compliance, evasion and corporate tax avoidance. Comparatively, little is known about personal taxpayers’ avoidance. This study explores the underlying dimensions of personal tax avoidance orientation (PTAO) among accounting students in Malaysia and Indonesia. Using survey data from 316 final-year accounting students from Universiti Utara Malaysia and Universitas Islam Bandung, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to identify latent dimensions underlying perceptions of personal tax avoidance. Reliability assessment and comparative descriptive analyses were conducted. Five dimensions of PTAO were identified: responsibilities as taxpayer, compute correct tax liability, ethical consideration, tax planning strategy, and deterrence by tax authority. The findings suggest that accounting students perceive personal tax avoidance as a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing legal compliance, ethical evaluation, tax planning behaviour and enforcement considerations. While respondents from both countries demonstrated strong awareness of tax obligations, differences were observed in perceptions of tax incentives, tax computation confidence and enforcement risk. Rather than treating personal tax avoidance as a single behavioural outcome, this study provides exploratory evidence that future taxpayers conceptualise legal tax minimisation through multiple dimensions. The study offers an initial framework for future research examining personal tax planning behaviour within self-assessment systems.