Determinants of Attitudes toward Taxation in Britain

Abstract

This study sets out to investigate the relationship between demographic variables (age, sex, education, vote, and income), psychological beliefs (alienation, Protestant work ethic, and conservatism) and attitudes toward taxation. Over 250 people from a variety of backgrounds completed a number of standardized self-report measures. A factor analysis of the scale revealed five clearly interpretable factors which were later computed into five subscale scores. Analysis of variance showed that the psychological belief variables most differentiated subjects' attitudes toward taxation. A canonical correlational analysis revealed that education, vote, alienation, and Protestant work ethic were most clearly related to the various taxation attitudes. These results are discussed in terms of the previous literature in this area and various suggestions for future research are considered.