Tax Awareness As A Moderator Of The Association Between Coretax System Perceptions And Tax Compliance Among Msmes In Solo Raya, Indonesia

Abstrak

 Digital tax administration is expected to facilitate taxpayer compliance, but its effectiveness may depend on taxpayers’ awareness of their fiscal responsibilities. This study investigates the association between perceptions of Indonesia’s Coretax system and self-reported tax compliance among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including the moderating role of tax awareness. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 386 purposively selected Coretax users in Solo Raya, Central Java, from 5 March to 7 April 2026. The data were examined using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), supplemented by item-level descriptive analysis and a discriminant-validity check using the questionnaire appendix. The direct association between perceived Coretax quality and compliance was positive but statistically nonsignificant (β = 0.083; t = 1.745; p = 0.082). Tax awareness was positively associated with compliance (β = 0.624; p < 0.001) and positively moderated the Coretax–compliance association (β = 0.081; p = 0.033). The model explained 45.8% of the variation in self-reported compliance (R² = 0.458). The findings suggest that improvements to digital tax services and taxpayer education should be considered together. Given the purposive sampling, cross-sectional design and self-reported measures, these results establish associations rather than causal effects.