Fariz Rizky Hidayat

The Effect of Taxpayers' Suspicion Toward Existing Tax Laws on Tax Audit Effectiveness

Introduction

The effect of taxpayers' suspicion toward existing tax laws on tax audit effectiveness. This study examines how taxpayer suspicion of existing tax laws affects tax audit effectiveness, using bibliometric analysis of 433 articles. It reveals significant development and diverse clusters in tax audit research.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how taxpayer distrust of current tax laws affects the efficiency of tax audits. Tax audits are a means of communication between tax authorities and taxpayers in addition to being an instrument to confirm tax compliance. The audit process can be affected by resistance and uncooperative behavior caused by a cynical attitude towards tax law. To investigate the evolution of research related to tax audits, this study used bibliometric analysis on 433 journal articles published between 2021 and 2025 using Publish or Perish and VOSviewer tools. Seven clusters with a wide range of subjects were revealed by this study, indicating that the field of tax audit has received substantial attention and development. To directly investigate the psychological impact of suspicion on audit smoothness, more qualitative research is needed.

Review

The title, "The Effect of Taxpayers' Suspicion Toward Existing Tax Laws on Tax Audit Effectiveness," proposes a highly relevant and compelling research question. Investigating the psychological dimensions that influence the effectiveness of tax audits, specifically how taxpayer distrust might impede the process, offers significant practical implications for tax authorities and policymakers aiming to enhance compliance and administrative efficiency. However, the abstract immediately reveals a critical divergence between this stated purpose and the actual methodology employed. While the objective is to examine an *effect*, the study's chosen method is bibliometric analysis, which focuses on mapping research trends rather than empirically testing causal relationships. The core weakness of this submission lies in the fundamental mismatch between its stated purpose and its execution. Bibliometric analysis, while valuable for understanding the evolution and landscape of a research field, is entirely unsuited to "examine how taxpayer distrust... affects the efficiency of tax audits." This method can identify *what* has been researched, *who* is researching it, and *where* research is concentrated, but it cannot provide empirical evidence for the "effect" of a psychological variable like suspicion on audit outcomes. Furthermore, the methodological detail mentioning articles published "between 2021 and 2025" for a current study presents a significant and inexplicable flaw, as it's impossible to include future publications. The reported findings of "seven clusters" and "substantial attention" are typical for a bibliometric study but offer no insight into the central research question posed by the title. In conclusion, the paper, as presented in the abstract, suffers from a profound methodological misalignment. It sets an ambitious goal of exploring a specific psychological effect but then employs a descriptive bibliometric approach that cannot possibly answer that question. The abstract's own concluding sentence, stating that "more qualitative research is needed" to investigate the psychological impact, serves as a self-admission that the current study does not fulfill its stated primary objective. For this work to be publishable, it must either completely redefine its purpose to align with a bibliometric study (e.g., "A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Trends in Tax Audit Studies") or undertake the empirical, likely qualitative or quantitative, research necessary to directly address the intriguing question posed in its title.

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