| Federal income tax laws have traditionally treated scholarships like gifts; both have generally been excluded from gross income. After the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86), however, scholarships are excludible only to the extent that they are used for qualified educational expenses (Internal Revenue Code S 117). Many students are not aware of the tax rules related to scholarship income. Furthermore, scholarship granting institutions are not required to report scholarships to the IRS.; This study examines tax compliance related to scholarship income. Tax compliance is hypothesized to be associated with three categories of explanatory variables: deterrence variables, social commitment variables, and demographic variables. In addition, it is hypothesized that tax compliance is higher among students who are informed of the congressional justification for taxing scholarships than among students who are not so informed.; Data to test the research hypotheses was gathered via a questionnaire mailed to 435 scholarship recipients. The research instrument contained 28 questions designed to measure the respondent's attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and knowledge related to the federal income tax system. Approximately one-half of the questionnaires contained a statement explaining the congressional justification for taxing scholarships (i.e., an appeal to conscience). Two-hundred thirty-six responses were received (a 55.7 percent response rate). A logit regression model was fitted to identify the variables associated with tax compliance.; The data analysis produced three major findings. First, the data provides strong evidence that noncompliance related to scholarship income is a significant problem. Second, the logit regression analysis indicates that compliance related to scholarship income is positively associated with feelings of guilt, perceptions of equity, and moral values related to tax evasion; compliance is inversely related to students' perceptions of the prevalence of noncompliance by other students. Third, the data provides strong evidence that students who are informed of the congressional justification for taxing scholarships are more likely to report their scholarship income than students who are not so informed. The data also provides strong evidence that, compared to men, women are much more responsive to appeals to conscience. |
