ECOFORUM [Volume 8, Issue 1(18), 2019] Cristina TIMOFTE (COCA) PhD Student Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava, 720229, Romania cristinat.coca@gmail.com Marian SOCOLIUC Prof. Assist. PhD Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava, 720229, Romania marians@seap.usv.ro Abstract Tax evasion is a mass socio-economical phenomenon that is present at a global level, negatively affecting state economies. This article presents and explores the aspects that lead to the manifestation of this phenomenon and the consequences it has on the social and economic environment. The identification and illustration of the determinants and effects of tax evasion are presented by use of an exploratory instrument that is the tree- diagram. The main contributions to the research field this study brings are the labeling, individualization and exploration of the main causes of tax evasion, and also of its consequences, an approach that is essential in order to find solutions for measuring and maintaining a controlled dimension of this phenomenon, which cannot be directly quantified. Key words: accounting information; corruption; fiscal pressure; tax evasion; tree diagram. JEL Classification: H26, H30, M49 I. I NTRODUCTION The relevant tax research studies and literature contain various definitions of tax evasion, some divergent and some convergent, which have the following common points: tax evasion implies the financial deprivation of state budgets, it involves the manifestation of one`s volition, that is the showing of intent, qualified by purpose – fully or partially evading the fulfillment of tax obligations, and it cannot be directly quantified or observed. Moreover, tax evasion is defined as having either a legal or an illicit character, depending on the way in which it manifests itself. The European Commission differentiates three major avenues available to tax evaders: ▪ Tax fraud and tax evasion, such as not reporting income, thus illegally depriving public budgets of money; ▪ Tax havens, which imply storing money offshore, where it is unreported and untaxed; ▪ Tax dodging, often by aggressive tax planning by legal or natural persons, which exploit the limits of the law with the aim of minimizing the taxes to be paid. In our opinion, tax evasion can be defined as deliberately breaking the law, in order to obtain monetary benefits that lead to the deprivation of the general state budget, by tax noncompliance (avoiding or evading tax obligations) through certain actions or inactions. In order to properly understand and fight against this phenomenon, what determines its manifestation is of concern. Thus, (Jackson and Milliron, 1986) were among the first ones to analyze and debate in their scientific papers the determinants of tax evasion. According to them, there are 14 determinants that can be grouped in three main categories, as follows: ▪ Demographic determinants – age, gender, education and occupational status; ▪ Economic determinants – income level, income source, marginal tax rates, sanctions and probability of detection; ▪ Behavioral determinants – complexity, fairness, revenue authority contact, compliant peers and ethics or tax morale. Other classifications (Khlif and Achek, 2015), made considering the relevant tax literature, divide the key determinants of tax evasion into four large categories: ▪ Demographical: criminality level, gender, age, education, religion, etc.; ▪ Cultural and behavioral: tax morale, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, power distance, etc.; TAX EVASION – FROM ITS ROOTS TO ITS BRANCHES