Content Analysis of Scientific Articles on Tax in Iran

The main purpose of this study was to discover the thematic tendencies of scientific articles in the field of taxation in Iran and to classify them into specific categories to determine the research priorities of Iranian researchers in this field.

In this applied descriptive-analytical study with a quantitative approach, all 63 titles of scientific journals publishing papers in the fields of economics, accounting, and finance were examined. The data were collected using a checklist tool and statistically analyzed using Excel software.

During the period under review, 478 articles in the field of taxation were published with 1148 authors. The MA authors were at the top of the authorschr('39') list with the publication of 419 articles. Among the universities and research centers, Tehran University together with Allameh Tabatabachr('39')i University was ranked first with the publication of 34 articles. In terms of topic orientation, 12.5 and 9.6 of published papers were in the field of “effectiveness and tax efficiency” and “tax avoidance”, respectively. From a total of 12822 references cited in the articles, 58 and 42% of them were in English and Persian, respectively.

It seems that the reason, why Iranian researchers pay more attention to the effectiveness and efficiency of taxation has been the application of different manners concerning tax collection in Iran. On the other hand, the inclusion of tax avoidance and evasion in the second and fourth ranks of researcherschr('39') research priorities indicates the existence of a serious problem and dilemma in this field.