Ways of measuring trust

These are examples of statements used by the Swedish Tax Agency in polls to understand and measure taxpayer’s perception of trust. All statements are answered by the taxpayers with alternatives on a scale 1-5 where 1 is disagree and 5 agree. There is also an alternative ‘no opinion’. The polls are done by an external party to safeguard the integrity of the respondents.

Trust

• I trust the way the Swedish Tax Agency carries out its mission.
• If I need help, I trust that I can get it from the Swedish Tax Agency.
• I trust the answers I get form the Swedish Tax Agency are correct.
• I trust government agencies in general.
• I trust other people in general.

Treatment

• I perceive a good treatment from the Swedish Tax Agency.
• Officers from the Swedish Tax Agency tells me how to solve my problem.
• Officers from the Swedish Tax Agency assume that I want to comply
• The Swedish Tax Agency treats me fair.
• The Swedish Tax Agency treats all taxpayers fair.

Possibilities to comply

• It’s easy to get information from the Swedish Tax Agency
• STA is clear about my rights and obligations for my business.
• It’s easy to know what tax rulings that concerns my business.
• The time and costs it takes for me to comply is fair.

Moral obligations and norms

• I feel a moral obligation to comply with the tax rules.
• I would have no problem to work without paying taxes or cheat with taxes if there was no risk of detection.
• People I know would think I did the wrong thing if I worked without paying taxes.
• I personally know people who cheats with their taxes.

Unfair competition

• Our business face unfair competition because others in our line of business cheat with their taxes.
• Results divided in different lines of businesses (restaurants, construction, taxi etc.)

Another source of information are polls by other organisations and universities. In Sweden, the trust for different institutions is measured and ranked. This gives valuable information about trust in comparison with other institutions and how trust changes over time.