| dc.description.abstract | This study sought to evaluate tax audits, tax sanctions and SME compliance to taxes such as Value Added Tax, PAYE and Income tax. Tax Audit was broken down into its components which are Desk Audit, Field Audit and Registration Audit. The study was premised on four objectives; To investigate the effect of desk audit on tax compliance of SMEs in Kampala District, to identify the influence of field audits on tax compliance of SMEs in Kampala District, to determine the effect of registration audits on tax compliance of SMEs in Kampala District and to examine the mediating effect of sanctions on the relationship between tax audits and tax compliance of SMEs in Kampala District. To achieve these objectives, the study employed a Descriptive and Correlational research design. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from several taxpayers. A total of 196 questionnaires were administered to different taxpayers and 184 questionnaires were completed representing a response rate of 93.8%. The collected data was edited, coded and entered for analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences computer package. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The research findings revealed that desk audit [β=0.122, p-value = 0.013], registration audit [β=0.206, p-value = 0.000] and tax sanctions [β=0.411, p-value = 0.000] had a positive and significant effect on tax compliance. However, field audit was found to have no effect on tax compliance among SMEs in Uganda [β=0.005, p-value = 0.933]. Further, Tax sanctions were found to have a mediating effect on the relationship between tax audit and tax compliance [ST=4.416, p-value = 0.000]. The study recommended that Uganda Revenue Authority intensifies the frequency of desk audits to check tax compliance and minimize tax evasion, Uganda Revenue Authority designs a business registration framework that encourages businesses, the development of a more effective tax penalty system to supplement the self-assessment system and increasing the number of automated audits it conducts in order to directly or indirectly inform tax payers about the risks associated with non-compliance as well as increasing the audit coverage. | en_US |
