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Research Article Volume 10 Issue 1
Tax evasion ethics in Brazil and Portugal: a comparative public finance study
Robert W McGee, Serkan Benk, Osman Geyik
Received: December 26, 2025 | Published: January 5, 2026
Citation: McGee RW, Benk S, Geyik O. Tax evasion ethics in Brazil and Portugal: a comparative public finance study. Sociol Int J. 2026;10(1):1-5. DOI: 10.15406/sij.2026.10.00447
Abstract
This study examines attitudes toward the ethics of tax evasion in Brazil and Portugal using data from Wave 7 of the World Values Survey, which surveyed over 100,000 individuals across multiple countries. Participants rated the justifiability of cheating on taxes on a 10-point Likert scale (1 = never justifiable; 10 = always justifiable). The analysis compares overall mean scores and demographic breakdowns by gender, age, education level, confidence in government, and happiness. Results indicate strong opposition to tax evasion in both countries, with Portugal showing significantly stronger opposition (mean score: 2.04) compared to Brazil (mean score: 3.01). Gender was not a significant variable in either country, while age and education revealed fluctuating patterns, with older and more educated groups generally more opposed. Confidence in government and happiness showed limited significance, though opposition tended to decrease with lower happiness. The findings suggest waning Portuguese cultural influence on Brazilian attitudes, highlighting potential alignments with other Latin American perspectives. Implications for public finance policy and ethical frameworks are discussed, emphasizing the role of demographic factors in tax compliance.
Keywords: tax evasion, ethics, Brazil, Portugal, public finance, World Values Survey, tax compliance, demographic analysis, tax morale
©2026 McGee, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.