Usage and Adoption of Online Tax Filing and Payment System in Tax Management : An Empirical Assessment With Technology Acceptance (TAM) Model in Turkey

This paper is aimed to investigate the development and usage of modern information technologies in tax management, and modernization of tax administrations. Specifically, the paper tries to investigate e-declaration and e-tax payment systems in Turkey. E-declaration (or online tax filing, e-tax return filing, e-filing) can be defined as the tax-return filing system by aid of computer and internet. E-tax payment system (or online tax payment system, e-tax lodgement system) is an information system by which tax-payers would pay electronically the tax-due.There are three tax payment methods used in Turkey. One of them is named traditional tax collection method, in which the tax-payers pay tax-due at the tax administration. The other two tax payment methods are to use interactive bank accounts in internet or to use bank ATM in front of the bank building. These two last methods differ from the traditional method and form online tax payment system in Turkey. Government has authorized banks or special financial institutions to collect electronic taxes in Turkey. Two methods of data collection were employed in this study. Initially, textual analysis was applied in order to examine reports, government policy documents, media releases, journal articles, and other written material. Then, in-depth interviews with the directors of tax administrations and surveys with Certified Public Accountants (CPA) in Turkey were carried out. The paper is one of the first papers conducted in online tax filing and payment system's academic research in Turkey. The paper first demonstrates the projects that the government has carried out to use the ICT technologies in tax management and to modernize the tax management in Turkey. Then, the paper explains the government's plans and goals relating to e-taxation, and the operation of e-declaration system. Finally, the paper makes an empirical assessment of adoption of e-tax filing system in Turkey with Technology Acceptance (TAM) Model