Tax Compliance in Ethiopia: Value Added Tax Compliance in Addis Ababa City Government Revenue Agency in Case of Vat Registered Contractors

Modern tax administration in general and VAT administration in particular requires the transfer of tax responsibilities from the Revenue office to the tax payers to register in the tax system, to file VAT returns in time, to make accurate returns and to pay the required VAT voluntarily and timely based on the self-assessment system. The main aim of this research is to point out ways of improving voluntary VAT compliance through the identification of factors influencing compliance behaviors of value added taxpayers. The subjects of the study include 251 VAT registered Contractors and 5 VAT Team Leaders. The results of the study depicted that most of the VAT registered contractors have a positive and encouraging attitude towards government (public) expenditure program and that the AACG was considered as trust worthy in the efficient and effective utilization of the tax revenue for the provision of public goods and services for the well-being of the residents. Therefore, it is concluded that the status of the Value Added Tax Compliance in AACGRA has its own strength and weakness.