Recent Experience with Tax Reform in Developing Countries

Thirsk, Wayne R.

doi:10.1007/978-1-349-22790-7_9

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Good planning and policy formulation focuses on what matters and what can be done and pays close attention to detail and implementation (Gillis 1989;Thirsk 1997). In particular, building up adequate institutional capacity in the tax field, both inside and outside government, is critical to being able to adapt policies to changing circumstances and needs, thus ensuring some degree of robustness and resiliency (IDB 2006).…”

Section: Play the Right Gamementioning

confidence: 99%

Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?

Bird

2013

IDS Working Papers

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Summary This paper considers how economic thinking about taxation in developing countries has changed over the last half century. It suggests that three different ‘models’ of development taxation may be discerned over this period. The key element in the first model, which was derived from the dominant public finance literature in the 1950s and 1960s, was the introduction of a comprehensive progressive personal income tax. Experience proved that this approach was not very useful. Fortunately, increased knowledge of the reality of conditions in developing countries, combined with post‐1970 theoretical and empirical studies of taxation, soon led to the emergence of a second model for development taxation, centered on a broad‐based VAT and much lower rate income taxes, both personal and corporate. While there is still much to be said for this model, more recent investigations of the political and administrative as well as economic dimensions of tax systems in developing countries have led to the gradual emergence of a third ‘model’– or, perhaps better, framework – for development taxation. Unlike the earlier approaches, this approach focuses on the need to ‘custom build’ the different components of the tax system as well as the system as a whole and emphasizes the extent to which sustainable reforms must be developed ‘in house’ by countries themselves.

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Section: Play the Right Gamementioning

confidence: 99%

Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?

Bird

2013

IDS Working Papers

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“…For example, reducing tariffs removes major distortions but there is evidence that trade liberalisation has tended to reduce tax/GDP ratios (Khattry and Mohan Rao, 2002). A number of points emerge from most assessments of reform experience (see Patel, 1997;Thirsk, 1997;Tanzi and Zee, 2000):…”

Section: Characteristics Of Tax Systems In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Poverty Impacts of Tax Structure Reform in Developing Countries: How Little We Know

Gemmell

Morrissey²

2005

Development Policy Review

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The past two decades have witnessed widespread reforms of tax structures in developing countries. This article reviews available evidence on the effects of various taxes, and hence of tax structure reform, on distribution and the poor. Taxes on exports and goods consumed especially by the poor (e.g. kerosene) are the most consistently found to be regressive, whereas taxes on ‘luxury’ items such as cars, beverages and alcohol are the most likely to be progressive. Sales taxes are slightly more progressive, or less regressive, than taxes on imports. The reforms implemented are therefore unlikely to have worsened the effects of the tax structure on the poor.

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“…It also arises from the critical role that business plays as the effective tax collector for such other taxes as withheld taxes on wages, interest and dividends and sales and excise taxes. 36 See Thirsk (1997) and Das-Gupta and Mookherjee (1998) for case studies of successes.…”

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confidence: 99%

Tax Challenges Facing Developing Countries

Bird

2008

SSRN Journal

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Recent Experience with Tax Reform in Developing Countries

Cited by 18 publications

References 4 publications

Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?

Taxation and Development: What Have We Learned from Fifty Years of Research?

Distribution and Poverty Impacts of Tax Structure Reform in Developing Countries: How Little We Know

Tax Challenges Facing Developing Countries

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