Knowledge Management for tax Purposes and the Ethics of tax Evasion

The purpose of this study is to analyse the question of Knowledge Management (KM) regarding the behaviour of taxpayers in Portugal. The consequences of fiscal reality in an economy can be as productive as it is devastating. One of the major problems for tax administrators in the twentieth century has been the growth in tax avoidance (Likhovski, 2007). In a fiscal system closely linked to accounting, such as Portuguese, the hiring of accounting professionals plays a very important role. No one like them can, in advance (this concept can make a difference), make known the tax to be supported in a more or less near future and present valid alternatives to avoid or minimize it. In this task the question of ethics plays a particularly important role. The definition of Accounting is presented as an information system that can serve a wide range of users. The knowledge of this information is used for internal and external decision-making. Moreover, it is, as a rule, the basis for the tax assessment in companies. Having all that was previously stated in mind the research questions of the paper are: How to manage the accounting information that gives rise to tax payment? Is this information reliable? In order to answer these questions we will conduct a questionnaire addressed to teachers, students and other experts in accounting and tax matters. It is expected that the results on the possible explanation for the reliability of the information will move towards the ethics as a fundamental discipline in the training of these professionals. We believe that this study will result in the reflection on the importance of ethical education of both professionals who perform and at the level of decision. The data collected are reported for the year 2019. Since accounting and tax rules are subject to frequent changes, this should be considered as a limitation to our study.