Designing a System Model of Accountability in Tax System of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Case Study of Mazandaran Province Tax Affairs Directorates)

The aim of this study is to design a system model of accountability in the tax system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For this purpose, the mixed research method was used. First, the Delphi technique was used to identify the legitimate demands and expectations of taxpayers as inputs of the model. In the next step, 4 types of accountability mechanisms were identified as components of transformation process of the model. In the third step, through  partial least squares path modeling, using Smart PLS software, the impact of tax system's accountability on social-psychological variables of public trust, legitimacy and public satisfaction as outputs of the model, as well as the impact of public trust, legitimacy and public satisfaction on voluntary tax compliance, as outcome of the model, was tested. The findings indicated that, when the status of the political accountability is not at the optimal level, the optimal level of managerial and legal accountability does not have a significant impact on voluntary tax compliance.