[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v37y2012i5p304-321.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Boundary work and tax regulation: A Bourdieusian view

Author

Listed:
  • Gracia, Louise
  • Oats, Lynne
Abstract
Boundaries are ubiquitous in modern social life, and the work of creating and maintaining boundaries is particularly evident within regulatory fields. Through the analysis of a recent critical incident in the tax field (Arctic Systems) with which the accounting profession is intimately associated, this paper uses a Bourdieusian lens to unravel the relational complexities of the regulation of tax avoidance at the complex and fuzzy boundary between acceptable and unacceptable tax practice. We develop an alternative, relational interpretation of tax regulation and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of regulatory practice within the tax field that also raises questions about regulatory practice more widely. We conclude by highlighting how a move towards ‘relational’ regulation might contribute to improved understanding of regulatory processes and practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Gracia, Louise & Oats, Lynne, 2012. "Boundary work and tax regulation: A Bourdieusian view," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 304-321.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:37:y:2012:i:5:p:304-321
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2012.03.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368212000293
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.aos.2012.03.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kirchler, Erich & Maciejovsky, Boris & Schneider, Friedrich, 2003. "Everyday representations of tax avoidance, tax evasion, and tax flight: Do legal differences matter?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 535-553, August.
    2. Benno Torgler, 2002. "Speaking to Theorists and Searching for Facts: Tax Morale and Tax Compliance in Experiments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 657-683, December.
    3. Edgley, Carla R.P., 2010. "Backstage in legal theatre: A Foucauldian interpretation of ‘Rationes Decidendi’ on the question of taxable business profits," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 560-572.
    4. Reckers, Philip M.J. & Sanders, Debra L. & Roark, Stephen J., 1994. "The Influence of Ethical Attitudes on Taxpayer Compliance," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 47(4), pages 825-836, December.
    5. Hasseldine, John & Holland, Kevin & van der Rijt, Pernill, 2011. "The market for corporate tax knowledge," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 39-52.
    6. Lars P. Feld & Bruno S. Frey, 2002. "Trust breeds trust: How taxpayers are treated," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 87-99, July.
    7. Mark Shenkin & Andrea B. Coulson, 2007. "Accountability through activism: learning from Bourdieu," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(2), pages 297-317, April.
    8. Cooper, David J. & Robson, Keith, 2006. "Accounting, professions and regulation: Locating the sites of professionalization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 415-444.
    9. Stephens, Melvin Jr & Ward-Batts, Jennifer, 2004. "The impact of separate taxation on the intra-household allocation of assets: evidence from the UK," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1989-2007, August.
    10. Braithwaite, John, 2005. "Markets in Vice, Markets in Virtue," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195222012.
    11. Prem Sikka & Mark P. Hampton, 2005. "The role of accountancy firms in tax avoidance: Some evidence and issues," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 325-343, September.
    12. Morris, Timothy & Empson, Laura, 1998. "Organisation and expertise: An exploration of knowledge bases and the management of accounting and consulting firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(5-6), pages 609-624.
    13. Hamilton, Gavin & Ó hÓgartaigh, Ciarán, 2009. "The Third Policeman: ‘The true and fair view’, language and the habitus of accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(8), pages 910-920.
    14. Richardson, Alan J., 2009. "Regulatory networks for accounting and auditing standards: A social network analysis of Canadian and international standard-setting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 571-588, July.
    15. Ramirez, Carlos, 2001. "Understanding social closure in its cultural context: accounting practitioners in France (1920-1939)," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(4-5), pages 391-418.
    16. Reckers, Philip M.J. & Sanders, Debra L. & Roark, Stephen J., 1994. "The Influence of Ethical Attitudes on Taxpayer Compliance," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 47(4), pages 825-36, December.
    17. Martin Messner, 2009. "The Limits of Accountability," Post-Print hal-00486747, HAL.
    18. Black, Julia & Baldwin, Robert, 2010. "Really responsive risk-based regulation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 27632, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. B. Malsch & Y. Gendron & F. Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations: The influence of Pierre Bourdieu on accounting literature," Post-Print halshs-00783872, HAL.
    20. Kirchler,Erich, 2007. "The Economic Psychology of Tax Behaviour," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521876742, September.
    21. Xu, Yin & Xu, Xiaoqun, 2008. "Social actors, cultural capital, and the state: The standardization of bank accounting classification and terminology in early twentieth-century China," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 73-102, January.
    22. Neu, Dean, 2006. "Accounting for public space," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 391-414.
    23. Valerie Braithwaite, 2009. "Defiance in Taxation and Governance," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12542.
    24. Ashby, Julie S. & Webley, Paul & Haslam, Alexander S., 2009. "The role of occupational taxpaying cultures in taxpaying behaviour and attitudes," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 216-227, April.
    25. Bertrand Malsch & Yves Gendron & Frédérique Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(2), pages 194-228, February.
    26. Rogene Buchholz & Sandra Rosenthal, 2006. "Integrating Ethics All the Way Through: The Issue of Moral Agency Reconsidered," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 233-239, June.
    27. Llewellyn, Sue, 1998. "Boundary work: Costing and caring in the social services," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 23-47, January.
    28. Messner, Martin, 2009. "The limits of accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 918-938, November.
    29. B. Malsch & Y. Gendron & F. Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations: The influence of Pierre Bourdieu on accounting literature," Post-Print halshs-00586846, HAL.
    30. repec:bla:jecsur:v:16:y:2002:i:5:p:657-83 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. James, Malcolm, 2010. "Humpty Dumpty's guide to tax law: Rules, principles and certainty in taxation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 573-583.
    32. Murphy, Kristina, 2004. "Aggressive tax planning: Differentiating those playing the game from those who don't," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 307-329, June.
    33. Humphrey, Christopher & Loft, Anne & Woods, Margaret, 2009. "The global audit profession and the international financial architecture: Understanding regulatory relationships at a time of financial crisis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 810-825, August.
    34. Wenzel, Michael, 2005. "Motivation or rationalisation? Causal relations between ethics, norms and tax compliance," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 491-508, August.
    35. John Avery Jones CBE, 1996. "Tax law: rules or principles?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 63-89, August.
    36. Blanthorne, Cindy & Kaplan, Steven, 2008. "An egocentric model of the relations among the opportunity to underreport, social norms, ethical beliefs, and underreporting behavior," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 684-703.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Goddard, Andrew, 2021. "Accountability and accounting in the NGO field comprising the UK and Africa – A Bordieusian analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Stringfellow, Lindsay & McMeeking, Kevin & Maclean, Mairi, 2015. "From four to zero? The social mechanisms of symbolic domination in the UK accounting field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 86-100.
    3. Vollmer, Hendrik, 2019. "Accounting for tacit coordination: The passing of accounts and the broader case for accounting theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 15-34.
    4. Farjaudon, Anne-Laure & Morales, Jérémy, 2013. "In search of consensus: The role of accounting in the definition and reproduction of dominant interests," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 154-171.
    5. Diana Onu & Lynne Oats & Erich Kirchler & Andre Julian Hartmann, 2019. "Gaming the System: An Investigation of Small Business Owners’ Attitudes to Tax Avoidance, Tax Planning, and Tax Evasion," Games, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, November.
    6. Otusanya, Olatunde Julius, 2011. "The role of multinational companies in tax evasion and tax avoidance: The case of Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 316-332.
    7. Cooper, Christine & Coulson, Andrea B., 2014. "Accounting activism and Bourdieu's ‘collective intellectual’ – Reflections on the ICL Case," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 237-254.
    8. Korndörfer, Martin & Krumpal, Ivar & Schmukle, Stefan C., 2014. "Measuring and explaining tax evasion: Improving self-reports using the crosswise model," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 18-32.
    9. Fábio Pereira Silva & Reinaldo Guerreiro & Eduardo Flores, 2019. "Voluntary versus enforced tax compliance: the slippery slope framework in the Brazilian context," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 66(2), pages 147-180, June.
    10. Hallsworth, Michael & List, John A. & Metcalfe, Robert D. & Vlaev, Ivo, 2017. "The behavioralist as tax collector: Using natural field experiments to enhance tax compliance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 14-31.
    11. Pickhardt, Michael & Prinz, Aloys, 2014. "Behavioral dynamics of tax evasion – A survey," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-19.
    12. Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2011. "Tax Morale, Tax Evasion and the Shadow Economy," Chapters, in: Friedrich Schneider (ed.), Handbook on the Shadow Economy, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Killian, Sheila, 2015. "“For lack of accountability”: The logic of the price in Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 17-32.
    14. Anesa, Mattia & Gillespie, Nicole & Spee, A. Paul & Sadiq, Kerrie, 2019. "The legitimation of corporate tax minimization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 17-39.
    15. Charl de Villiers & Matteo La Torre & Vida Botes, 2022. "Accounting and social capital: A review and reflections on future research opportunities," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4485-4521, December.
    16. Donna Bobek & Amy Hageman & Charles Kelliher, 2013. "Analyzing the Role of Social Norms in Tax Compliance Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 451-468, July.
    17. Bertrand Malsch & Yves Gendron, 2013. "Re-Theorizing Change: Institutional Experimentation and the Struggle for Domination in the Field of Public Accounting," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 870-899, July.
    18. Alawattage, Chandana, 2011. "The calculative reproduction of social structures – The field of gem mining in Sri Lanka," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 1-19.
    19. Modell, Sven, 2017. "Critical realist accounting research: In search of its emancipatory potential," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 20-35.
    20. Ejiogu, Amanze & Ambituuni, Ambisisi & Ejiogu, Chibuzo, 2021. "Accounting for accounting’s role in the neoliberalization processes of social housing in England: A Bourdieusian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:37:y:2012:i:5:p:304-321. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.