E-Service Quality Framework In A Revenue Authority Setting For South Africa

Abstract

Tax revenue forms the backbone of any economy. The quality of the e-services provided by a revenue authority is therefore crucial, as e-service quality directly influences the burden of complying with tax obligations, and hence directly affects the tax compliance climate in a country. The aim of the study is the development of a conceptual e-service quality framework for South Africa that encapsulates the ‘lens of a tax practitioner’ in a revenue authority setting. In order to develop the conceptual ‘lens of the tax practitioner’, an in-depth, qualitative approach was used to identify a comprehensive range of attributes and determinants that potentially drive service quality in the revenue service setting. One such qualitative method is the critical incident technique, which relies on a set of procedures to collect comments on service experiences, to perform a content analysis and to classify the observations of the reported service experiences. This study proposes a theoretical e-service quality framework that encapsulates the ‘lens of the tax practitioner’ in a revenue authority setting. Findings from this study may advance the understanding and the management of the service quality of the electronic services in a revenue authority setting.