scholarly journals Perception of a White-Collar Crime: Tax Evasion

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hughlene A. Burton ◽  
Stewart S. Karlinsky ◽  
Cynthia Blanthorne
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Violent Crimes ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
The Media

The current study was designed to investigate U.S. taxpayer's perception of the severity of tax evasion relative to other offenses, in general, and white-collar crimes, in particular. We compared the perception of tax evasion to 20 other offenses, including violent crimes such as rape and murder and relatively minor offenses such as jaywalking. Due to the recent focus by lawmakers and the media on white-collar scandals and the lack of comparisons in prior literature, we also included six white-collar crimes. Overall, the results indicate that tax evasion was viewed as only somewhat serious. When comparing tax evasion to other white-collar offenses, we found that tax evasion was perceived as equal in severity to minimum wage law violations and rated less serious than the other four white-collar crimes investigated. Most demographic factors (age, gender, education or income level, political affiliation, etc.) did not seem to be related to perceptions of tax evasion. However, location of taxpayers did have some effect. These findings differ from several previous studies.

The Social Construction of Corporate Violence: Media Coverage of the Imperial Food Products Fire

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Wright ◽  
Francis T. Cullen ◽  
Michael B. Blankenship
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
Food Products ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Criminal Convictions ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media

Although investigative reports have contributed to the social movement against white-collar crime, few studies assess the extent to which the media socially construct corporate violence as a “crime.” We examine this issue through a content analysis of newspaper coverage of the fire-related deaths of 25 workers at the Imperial Food Products chicken-processing plant, which resulted in the company's owner pleading guilty to manslaughter. The analysis revealed that newspaper reports largely attributed the deaths to the lax enforcement of safety regulations but did not initially construct the deaths as a crime or subsequently publicize the criminal convictions.

Brennpunkt „dolose Handlungen“

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-41
Author(s):  
Sabine Graschitz ◽  
Marco Haid ◽  
Magdalena Mühlburger ◽  
Peter Heimerl
Keyword(s):  
Annual Report ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Current Topic ◽  
The Media ◽  
A Current

Abstract White-collar crime and fraudulent activities are a current topic and although white-collar crime seems to be omnipresent in the media, the cases reported only show a fraction of the overall extent. In particular, the ACFE and the Big 4 auditing companies have carried out extensive analyses of the issue of fraudulent and white-collar crime. In this article, the profiles, types and motives of the offenders as well as fraudulent acts were reviewed in the annual report in order to provide an up-to-date overview. Zusammenfassung Wirtschaftskriminalität und dolose Handlungen stellen ein aktuelles Thema dar und obwohl Wirtschaftskriminalität in den Medien omnipräsent zu sein scheint, zeigen die berichteten Fälle nur einen Bruchteil des gesamten Ausmaßes auf. Insbesondere durch die ACFE, sowie durch die Big4-Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften wurden umfangreiche Analysen des Themas doloser bzw. wirtschaftskrimineller Handlungen vorgenommen. Daraus wurden im Rahmen dieses Beitrags die Täterprofile, -typen und Motive sowie dolose Handlungen im Geschäftsbericht aufgearbeitet, um einen aktuellen Überblick zu gewähren.

Crime in the Republic of Ireland: A Suitable Case for Social Analysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26
Author(s):  
Paul O'Mahony
Keyword(s):  
Social Deprivation ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
White Collar ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Suitable Case

This article argues that there has been a lack of critical, theoretically-based analysis of Irish criminal justice. It focuses on three areas that require further theoretically grounded analysis: the relationship between social deprivation and crime, white-collar crime, and the role of the media with respect to crime. It concludes with a possible framework for future social science research on crime in Ireland.

Filling the Gap in White-Collar Crime Detection Between Government and Governance: The Role of Investigative Journalists and Fraud Examiners

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Petter Gottschalk
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Economic Crime ◽  
Private Policing ◽  
Theory Of Crime ◽  
The Media ◽  
Crime Detection ◽  
White Collar Offenders

This article suggests that investigative journalists in the media and fraud examiners in private investigations have the potential of filling some of the detection gap. Based on the theory of crime signal detection, this article suggests that investigative journalists are in the position of detecting white-collar crime scandals as they rely on tips and whistleblowing. Empirical evidence from Norway documents that the media disclose a significant fraction of crime stories that later result in prosecution and conviction of white-collar offenders. Empirical evidence from Norway does not document any contribution from fraud examiners in private policing of economic crime, as they typically conclude with misconduct, but no crime, often to the satisfaction of their clients.

scholarly journals University students’ propensity towards white-collar versus street crime

SURG Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-12
Author(s):  
Rochelle Watt
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Self Control ◽  
The Other ◽  
Street Crime ◽  
Desire For Control ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Criminological Theories ◽  
Research Studies

While several traditional criminological theories have been used to explain the causes of white-collar crime, few research studies have examined the role that personality plays in explaining the causes of these types of crimes. University students were measured on two personality scales, self-control and desire for control, to determine the extent to which these factors affect the propensity to commit either street crime or white-collar crime. The findings indicate that self-control has the most significant effect on offending, but only when students indicated that they were willing to commit both street crime and white-collar crime. On the other hand, desire for control did not predict a propensity towards committing either type of crime.

scholarly journals An assessment of sentencing approaches to persons convicted of white-collar crime in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
CD Magobotiti
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Research Task ◽  
The Media ◽  
White Collar Offenders ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality

Assessing court sentencing approaches to persons convicted of white-collar crime is a complex task. For the purposes of this article, this research task involved assessing the appropriateness of sentences imposed within the proportionality principle during the period 2016 to 2021 in South Africa. This further involved the empirical use of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, in order to determine how commercial courts – in this case, the Bellville Commercial (Regional) Court – impose a sentence on white-collar criminals. The article establishes that, in South Africa, categories of white-collar crime such as corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering are increasingly reported by the media, independent institutions and government. There is a public perception that courts are generally lenient in sentencing white-collar offenders. This article aims to determine the appropriateness of a sentence, within the principle of proportionality, for white-collar criminals, in order to deter this type of crime.

Walking a Fine Line – A Contextual Perspective on the Purchase of “Stolen” Banking Data by German Authorities

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 926-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin M. Pfisterer
Keyword(s):  
Tax Evasion ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Fine Line ◽  
Corporate Executives ◽  
Corporate Executive ◽  
Listed Corporation ◽  
The Media ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
One Year

On 14 February 2008, German prosecutors and investigative authorities made a sensational catch. That day, it became public that they had initiated criminal investigations against Klaus Zumwinkel, then head of the DAX-listed corporation Deutsche Post. Additionally, the top manager's villa in Cologne was searched in a dawn raid and, as the media apparently had been tipped off, TV cameras could film the corporate executive while accompanied out of his home by prosecutor Margit Lichtinghagen. About one year later, Zumwinkel, no longer head of Deutsche Post, was convicted of tax evasion to two years of prison placed on probation. Although hailed by many as a triumph for the prosecution of white-collar crimes and the fight against corporate executives' recklessness, some already questioned the approach of prosecutors and investigators in the early stages. This criticism first and foremost referred to the fact that important information used as evidence in the investigations as well as the subsequent criminal court proceedings stemmed from banking data “stolen” by a Liechtenstein banker from his (former) employer Liechtenstein Global Trust, a bank based in Liechtenstein, and subsequently purchased by German authorities. This phenomenon, the purchase of “stolen banking data by German authorities, was not unprecedented as the so called “Liechtenstein tax affair” (“Liechtensteinische Steueraffäre”) had already been going on for some time. Zumwinkel, however, was the first widely known defendant in that context.

An assessment of adults’ views on white-collar crime

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Dearden
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Phone Survey ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Group Characteristics

Purpose This paper aims to update our understanding of the public’s opinion of white-collar crime and explains perceptions of white-collar crime using self-interest, political affiliation and in-group/out-group characteristics. Design/methodology/approach A state-wide phone survey of adults in North Carolina was conducted, and 421 adults responded. They provided their views of white-collar crime, the need for government intervention and whether they were more concerned about white-collar crime in the public or private sector. Findings In the survey, 74 per cent of the responders agreed or strongly agreed that white-collar crime is one of the leading problems in this decade, and 74 per cent of the responders suggested that it is not being adequately addressed by our legislators. Evidence suggests that individuals who are conservative, have high confidence in their economic circumstances or are demographically similar to stereotypical white-collar criminals perceive white-collar crime to be less of a problem than individuals without these characteristics. Originality/value This study shows that perceptions of the dangers of white-collar crime have increased since its inception. Additionally, this study extends our understanding about why certain demographics are more likely to care (and why high-ranking politicians are less likely to care) about white-collar crime.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document