Towards Ethical Tax Leadership: A Systematic Review of Corporate Tax Governance in South Africa

Abstract

This study examines how corporate tax governance has been conceptualised within the South African scholarly context. Using a systematic literature review and interpretive synthesis of fourteen A-list contributions, the study identified seven principle-oriented themes: ethical responsibilities, tax policy/strategy, tax risk management, tax control frameworks, the function of tax operations, co-operative compliance, and transparency and reporting. While these themes broadly align with the six VBDO (Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development) and Oikos principles, the findings extend the framework through the explicit inclusion of ethical responsibility as an additional principle and refine it by framing accountability primarily through transparency rather than formal assurance mechanisms. More critically, the literature is characterised by a predominantly normative and conceptual orientation, with minimal empirical evidence and an absence of explicit theoretical grounding. The primary contribution of the study lies in consolidating fragmented perspectives into a coherent, principle-oriented framework, particularly given that none of the reviewed sources explicitly articulate corporate tax governance principles, and these had to be inferred from the literature. The findings highlight the need for more theoretically grounded and empirically informed research that explicitly conceptualises corporate tax governance principles within the South African context, rather than inferring them from implicit and fragmented discussions.

https://doi.org/10.26803/MyRes.2026.16