Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to establish whether tax compliance intentions of tax-registered selfemployed persons are still influenced by economic variables instead of non-economic variables which
are now at the centre stage in tax compliance research. A quantitative research design based on a
survey of 453 self-employed persons randomly selected from 15 Small Taxpayers’ Offices across the
Greater Accra region was used. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) version 24 software complemented with a correlation analysis and validated using multiple
regression and one-way analysis of variance. Results indicate that if the Ghana Revenue Authority
(GRA) conducts frequent audits on business records and activities, and imposes lower tax rates on
self-employed persons, a moderate but positive effect on tax compliance could be achieved. The results
also indicate that higher fines could have a moderate negative effect on tax compliance decisions.
Lastly, the level of income of self-employed persons was found to have weak but positive effects on
their tax compliance intentions. The overarching results from this study indicate that economic
variables do have positive but moderate effects on tax compliance intentions of self-employed persons
in developing economies. It was recommend that the tax administration authority should not place too
much emphasis on higher fines and imposition of higher income tax rates to encourage voluntary
compliance, but instead, should place more emphasis on auditing of records and returns, and engage
and provide holistic support to enable self-employed persons to grow and expand their businesses.
