Cape Town - South African taxpayers could be caught in a crisis of conscience in relation to playing a part in financing a corrupt system through tax payments, according to an expert in tax dispute resolution.

Patricia Williams from Bowmans says in a company note that the magnitude of misuse and abuse of funds by government and parastatals (state-owned entities) is staggering, but already in the public eye and therefore general knowledge.

Williams says tax resistance has had a long history. Quoting from a book by Erich Kirchler, The economic psychology of tax behavior, she says tax resistance has played a significant role in the collapse of major world orders, including the Egyptian, Roman, Spanish and Aztec empires.