Malaysia is currently grappling with the challenges in ensuring adequate tax revenue, largely due to the occurrence of non-compliance and tax evasion. Tax enforcement measures like audits and investigations are crucial in promoting voluntary compliance and combating evasion since the inception of the Self-Assessment System (SAS). The government also emphasizes tax education and awareness programs to improve compliance. Despite efforts, the country continues to struggle with tax-related dilemmas, leading to an increase in penalties and additional taxes. Special Voluntary Disclosure Programs (SVDP) have been implemented to encourage delinquent taxpayers to come forward and report unreported income with reduced penalties. However, participation rates in these programs remain below expectations, indicating low commitment among taxpayers to correct non-compliance behavior. This study aims to determine the relationship between commitment and compliance behavior through SVDP, highlighting the mediating role of fairness perception and trust in tax authority. The data was gathered through physical survey questionnaires disseminated via tax firms and agents to random individual taxpayers in Malaysia. Analysis of 103 samples utilising Smart PLS analysis, revealed the research findings suggest that taxpayers' commitment significantly influences tax compliance through SVDP, with fairness perception significantly mediates the relationship between commitment and compliance. Trust in tax authority, however, was found to have a little effect as mediator. The research offers a substantial contribution on understanding the critical factors that would drive taxpayers’ committal compliance behaviour via SVDP. The general findings suggest that the empirical evidence that underscores the importance of trust in authority and fairness in tax treatment might be useful for future implementation of operational tax strategies to mitigate tax non-compliance and alleviate further revenue leakages.

Keywords: SVDP, Tax Compliance, Trust, Fairness, Commitment