Identifying Factors Affecting The Relationships Between Tax Officials and Taxpayers in Kenema City

In Sierra Leone Kenema to be particular, tax officials have to go to the field for tax collection because most taxpayers fail to do so. This is unlike the developed countries where most of these are done online and therefore both tax officials and taxpayers rarely see each other with respect to tax matters. Taxation is very important in the development of every nation in the world. According to Oboh (2012), the concept of taxation has been a concern of global significance as it affects every economy irrespective of national differences. According to Allingham and Sandmo (1972), tax revenues are one of (if not the) main income source for many governments throughout the world. Few matters are as important as the taxes people pay to their government as taxation is considered the most efficient and effective means of raising revenue for both central and local governments. Importantly, taxation is the avenue through which citizens are most intimately connected to the state and can be an important catalyst for public demands for responsiveness and accountability (Prichard, 2009). The aim of this study is to identify the factors affecting the relationship between tax officials and taxpayers in Kenema City, this validates the popular opinion that positive attitude of tax officials encourages voluntary compliance which eventually promotes a good relationship with taxpayers. Taxpayer respondents were selected using proportional allocation method of random sampling from each of the trading areas (Big Market, Fisheries market, Gbomgbotor Market and How for Do market) to give a total sample size of 250 out of the 3200 taxpayers in the four trading areas. (148) (59%) respondents were selected from Big Market, (40) (16%) from Fisheries market, (38) (15%) from Gbomgbotor and (24) (10%) from How for Do market. In all, the study has it that most of the taxpayers are of the perception that, the relationship between the tax officials and them is a positive one. This study answers the major research question which was to find out taxpayers’ perception of their relationship with tax officials. Finally, it is recommended that a positive attitude be shown by tax officials in their dealing with taxpayers. The positive attitude exhibited by tax officials is likely to shape the perception of taxpayers about them and better enhance their relationship. The study has revealed how the positive attitudes of patience, politely and professionalism contributed to ensuring a positive relationship between the officials and taxpayers.