1.1 Introduction
The primary functions of the tax system are determining the tax base and collecting taxes owed (Al-Naghy, 2015). The integrity of the tax system is dependent on the effectiveness of the tax administration, which is responsible for implementing tax policy and law to achieve the intended goals of the tax system. The successful implementation of tax policy and the attainment of its desired objectives is contingent upon the presence of an effective tax administration (Rawaba & Al-Bashir, 2017).
Also, tax administration actively pursues methods to enhance the funds required for societal well-being and to finance public expenditures (Gribnau, 2017). Additionally, it is  responsible  for  efficiently  and  resolutely  enforcing  tax  legislation,  as  a  feeble  and inflexible tax administration can lead to a decline in the intended tax income and a rise in tax evasion that is a financial crime that leads to substantial financial losses for the state (Mohamad et al., 2016)
Furthermore, tax evasion is a financial crime that leads to substantial financial losses for the state (Mohamad et al., 2016). Tax evasion hinders the government's ability to collect taxes owed by taxpayers, depriving it of a crucial source of funding and causing the Egyptian economy to suffer annual losses of nearly 100 billion pounds. This problem has been exacerbated by bureaucratic corruption, lack of transparency, and the involvement of sophisticated networks, which are estimated to cost advanced nations up to 20 percent of their income tax revenues (Degl'Innocenti & Rablett, 2020). According to OECD (2021), the tax-to-GDP ratio in Egypt was 14.1% in 2021 which can indicate several underlying issues such as tax evasion, a large informal economy, and inefficiencies in tax administration. It can also reflect lower economic activities or a narrow tax base where fewer sectors or individuals are taxed. Tax evasion could have influenced the allocation of the tax burden and the decrease in the government's public revenues, thereby affecting the government's capacity to finance public expenditures (Slemrod, 2016).
As a result, the state's lack of public resources may force it to seek loans from both internal and external sources. This will increase the burden of servicing the public debt, create inequality among taxpayers, and have a negative impact on the amount of tax revenues, which make up a significant portion of the state's overall revenue (Fouda et al., 2019; Tandean & Winnie, 2016; Ariyanto et al.; Dabla-Norris et al., 2019). Over the past few years, tax evasion has garnered significant interest among scholars and professionals (Nafti et al., 2020). Multiple studies (Othman, 2016; Mohamad, 2016; Fahima, 2017; Fouda et al., 2019) have shown that tax evasion has various causes and factors, with the most significant ones being flaws in tax legislation, deficiencies in tax administration, and a lack of tax awareness. Therefore, a comprehensive reform of the tax system is necessary.
In light of the preceding, the researcher seeks to conduct a field study on the Egyptian General Tax Authority to measure and assess the impact of implementing tax administration governance on mitigating tax evasion practices in Egypt.