The Role of Social Media in Mediating The Influence of Education on Tax Payment Decisions at The Lubuk Pakam Tax Office
Keywords:
Tax Education, Social Media, Tax Payment Decisions.Abstract
This study aims to analyze the role of social media as a mediating variable in the influence of education on tax payment decisions among taxpayers registered at the Lubuk Pakam Tax Office. A quantitative approach was used with a causal associative design. Primary data were collected from July to October 2025 from 100 respondents (determined using the Slovin formula) and processed using PLS-SEM (SmartPLS). The outer model testing results showed that all indicators were valid (outer loadings ≥ 0.70) and reliable (Cronbach's Alpha 0.923–0.964; Composite Reliability 0.937–0.969; AVE 0.653–0.758). The model had high explanatory power (R² social media = 0.791; R² decision to pay = 0.837). In the inner model, education had a positive and significant effect on the decision to pay (β = 0.350; t = 3.646; p < 0.001) and on social media (β = 0.889; t = 30.446; p < 0.001); social media also has a positive and significant effect on payment decisions (β = 0.589; t = 6.488; p < 0.001). The indirect effect of education on payment decisions through social media is significant (β = 0.524; t = 6.423; p < 0.001), confirming social media as a strong mediator. These findings imply that tax education strategies will be more effective if orchestrated through credible, accessible, interactive social media channels, coupled with specific calls to action toward payment execution.
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