Motivations of Used Car Salesman: Thoughts on Taxation

1. Motivations of used car salesman: How do they think about taxation? Nathan Harris & Jason McCrae

2. Regulatory Pyramid Compliance Model Command Regulation (Non Discretionary) Command Regulation (Discretionary) Enforced Self Regulation Self Regulation

3. Motivational Postures “... set of beliefs and attitudes that sum up how individuals feel about and wish to position themselves in relation to another social entity, in this case a tax authority” (Braithwaite, in preparation).

4. Commitment (Willing to do the right thing) Regulatory Pyramid Compliance Model Game Playing Disengagement Command Regulation (Non Discretionary) Resistance Capitulation (Resigned to doing the right thing) Command Regulation (Discretionary) Enforced Self Regulation Self Regulation

5. The study • Used Car dealerships • Walk-up face-to-face interviews (no pre-arranged appointment) • Majority of car-dealership locations in Canberra plus Yass and • Queanbeyan • 18 interviews + 19 refused • Refusals: “Too busy” “Not for us” “You don’t want my opinion” “No, No, no mate”

6. Interview • Open ended questions on Tax System, GST, ATO and Cash Economy • Also “What would you do if you were ‘in charge’ of the Tax System?” • Interviewees generally interested, friendly and (not surprisingly) talkative

7. Identifying the Motivational Postures Resistance - '... reflects doubts about the intentions of the tax office to behave cooperatively and benignly towards those who it dominates and provides a rhetoric for calling on taxpayers to be watchful, to fight for their rights, and to curb tax office power' “… the GST is a rort on the Australian public … stamp duty is not gone is it? No just some pissy little sales tax is gone. They shoulda just said that after all the other taxes we’re just going to take another f-ing 10 %” (Interview 15) “The money just goes into John Howard’s pocket. It would be better if there was more of what we pay in tax invested in the health and school systems” (Interview 6)

8. Disengagement - '...is a motivational posture that communicates resistance, but here the disenchantment is more widespread, and the individuals and groups have moved beyond seeing any point in challenging the authorities. The tax office and tax system are beyond redemption for the disengaged citizen, the main objective being to keep both social distant and blocked from view' “I’m sick of the government. If I’d thought about it I would have sold the business before the GST came in.” (interview 19) “Of course when there’s an election on it’ll all fucking change won’t it. They will change it or say they are gonna change it to be good but once they are elected it will just stay being fucked” … “People in power don’t care about me/us down here in the yard. They just do things that look after themselves and they are up so high it doesn’t matter.” (interview 4)

9. Game playing – '...a particular type of attitude to law: Law is seen as something to be molded to suit one's purpose rather than as something to be respected as defining the limits of acceptable activity” In interview 4 the participants listed strategies for engaging in the cash economy which they believed would make sure the ATO wouldn’t find out: • Only operate through tills between 10am & 4pm • Put cash income through pokies so that they become legitimate earnings from gambling • Put a lower price on the books • Don’t work through the books on weekends “There are lots of little loop holes that the accountant gets you around.” (Interview 21)

10. Commitment – 'beliefs about the desirability of tax systems and feelings of moral obligation to act in the interests of the collective and pay one's tax with good will‘ “We don’t want to die the riches person on the block. We’re not interested in that. We want to be well off but we also want to support those less fortunate than ourselves.” (interview 3) “the goals of the tax system is to provide schools, roads, hospitals and the like” – felt the tax system should do more for poverty (Interview 8) “If you don’t spend then you don’t pay tax” – Support for the GST (Interview 2)

11. Capitulation – 'acceptance of the tax office as the legitimate authority and the feeling the tax office is a benign power as long as one acts properly and defers to its power' “Basically it’s there” (interview 21) “It’s there … I have to deal with it so I do.” (interview 13) “Everyone has to toe the line” (interview 18) “You can’t cheat the tax man” (Interview 6)