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Top1. Introduction
The technological revolution prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused essential changes in e-Government services in Jordan and worldwide regions. Since governments have developed various systems to implement these services, there is a need to investigate if these services are delivered as expected and determine if citizens are willing to use and continue using these systems (AlHussain et al., 2022; Alalwan et al., 2016; Alryalat et al., 2017; Fetais et al., 2022; Tefera, 2018). E-Tax systems are significant e-Government applications; online platforms enable taxpayers to access tax services and replace manual taxation systems through the Internet (Wasao, 2014). Tax has been defined as an obligatory payment imposed by a government entity on citizens (taxpayers) which provides the necessary funds needed for different sectors and services (Brian et al., 2018). E-Tax applications allow taxpayers to file and redeem their payments of tax transparently and can save time and costs compared to the manual process (Hammouri & Abu-Shanab, 2017).
However, in several developing countries, domestic tax revenue collection falls short of expectations (Owusu et al., 2022; Deogratus et al., 2019). Indeed, despite the significance of online tax services, their adoption remains challenging and is not actively embraced (Night & Bananuka, 2019). This has led to initiatives and strategies that aim to significantly increase the use of eTax services to boost domestic revenue growth in many developing nations (El-Gamal et al., 2022; Akram et al., 2019).
As for Jordan, the government accepts both manual and electronic tax payments through its portal. Despite the introduction of the eTax system via the eGovernment program at the start of 2005, the number of taxpayers utilizing the system remains low. One reason could be the level of tax compliance and public awareness about the existence of eTax services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home was imposed, and using traditional channels caused delays and was temporarily unavailable with strict lockdowns (Alsaad & Al-Okaily, 2022; Al-Okaily, 2021). However, the government of Jordan did not impose mandatory use of the eTax system and it was optional for citizens to pay their tax online or wait until restrictions are lifted and pay physically in the Income and Sales Tax Departments. In addition, the eTax system has been introduced to serve citizens and conduct their taxation activities online without direct contact to avoid crowds.
Researchers and scholars have been increasingly interested in eTax systems following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, insufficient research has examined the antecedents that determine the acceptance of eTax systems from taxpayers’ perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this investigation was undertaken because a need arises to check if taxpayers face any obstructions that may have prevented them from adopting this service and investigate the variables that affect taxpayers’ behavioral intention to use and the actual usage of eTax systems. Hence, conducting this study will provide us with a better understanding of this technology, which may assist governments in improving their services and may positively influence citizens so that they presumably intend to use electronic government services.