Abstract:

The educational process is a continuous effect instrument that determines the future behavior of individuals and socio-economic results of the development of society. This instrument plays a particularly important role in nurturing good behavior models in citizens in the future. The article deals with a problem of building tax competencies in students that are required for the functioning of a developed civil society and that determine the financial and tax paying discipline of future taxpayers. As taxes are inescapable and essential for the financial stability of the state, the article proves that it is necessary to teach students about the fundamentals of the national tax system, the significance of taxes for society, tax risks and taxpayers' responsibility for their actions. The proposed research method includes a tax experiment – a classroom survey of students' tax paying behavior before and after classes covering certain subjects. Students were ranked according to their tendency to take risks and general trends were revealed in the behavior of the future taxpayers. Three key factors were identified that determine one's readiness to pay taxes in full: students' awareness of tax risks and liability and the probability of tax evasion being uncovered by controlling agencies and the size of ensuing penalties. It is proven that all the factors directly influence students' readiness to pay taxes in full. The article reviews the results of effectiveness assessments of various educational technologies. The surveys were conducted before and after classes were delivered to various student audiences. The effectiveness of the following teaching formats was assessed: lectures, seminars, business games and field trips to tax agencies. During the lectures the instructor told the students about various taxes and tax control. During practical exercises the students looked at the constituent elements of various taxes. During business games situations were modelled in which a tax was either paid or evaded, and possible penalties for the offence were considered. The field trips were used for immersing the students in the day-to-day work of tax authorities. The students visited the museum of the tax service, met with staff members of taxation agencies, participated in investigative activities. Various training methods were ranked according to the influence that they had on the consciousness of the future taxpayers. A conclusion was made that active learning techniques proved more effective as they resulted in students' readiness to pay taxes in full growing faster when compared to passive learning methods.

Keywords:

Competencies in students, tax experiment, educational technologies, effectiveness of the teaching formats.