Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the corruption-tax evasion nexus and to establish the
strength of relationships among corrupting activities.
Design/methodology/approach – The research applied structural equation modelling on selected data
from the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey on corruption activities and data on tax evasion
triggering factors from the World Development Indicators and the Bank of Ghana to test two hypotheses.
Findings – The test of the first hypothesis suggests that corrupting activities significantly cause taxevading
activities in Ghana; hence, there is at least one corrupting activity triggering tax evasion. Testing the
second hypothesis revealed that corruption in Ghana exhibits all of the five dimensions of corruption that
were examined. Hence, there is correlation among the corrupting activities.
Research limitations/implications – The research is limited by the availability of data; hence, only
data for selected variables for the period were examined.
Practical implications – The results are indicative that most emerging economies tend to have more
than one type of dominating corruption dimension, which are tax-evading triggers.
Originality/value – The study extends the literature by examining the various dimensions of corruption,
analysing the strength of their relationships and how they impact tax evasion in an emerging economy. By
identifying and employing specific corrupting activities, there is a better understanding and appreciation of
the corruption-tax evasion nexus in the revenue generation process. This may aid emerging economies in the
drafting of tax evasion and corruption reduction policies/programmes to ensure the achievement of
sustainable development goals.