The influence of religiosity, self-efficacy and perception towards law enforcement on compliance behavior of income zakat among public secondary school teachers in Selangor

Abstract

Zakat is the third category of the five pillars of Islam which is also an obligatory act of worship to be performed by every eligible Muslim individual. It comprises percentages of personal income upon various kinds levied as almsgiving for the relief of certain recipients. As mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah, the term “zakat” means “pure”, “Grow” and “laudable”. However, the collection level of this obligatory zakat fund is too low which is a religious act of worship, even though Malaysian Muslims are paying the legal tax. In general, there were many researchers particularly discussed on the issue of zakat on employment income. Zakat on employment income is still an issue in the country and it is caused a weak collection amongst Muslims who are distinctively eligible to contribute even though a religious announcement made it compulsory for the payment of zakat on employment income, and the matter is still discussed. The objectives of the study are to examine the influence of self-efficacy, religiosity, and perception towards law enforcement towards compliance behaviour to pay income zakat among public secondary school teachers in Selangor. This study applied random sampling method whereby the researcher will be able to contact only respondents who are ready to cooperate in the study. Since this study is concerned with how variables are associated, the quantitative research is used. The findings of the study show that self-efficacy and Islamic religiosity significantly influence intention to comply with zakat on income. Perception towards law enforcement, however, did not show any significant influence on zakat compliance. In general, the study reveals that the Theory of Planned Behavior is capable of predicting zakat compliance intention and consequently, zakat compliance behaviour. The findings of the present study can be used by the institution of zakat and policymakers to promote and educate the general public as to the importance of zakat on employment income. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the present study and conclusions are also highlighted.