Book Description

"Mr. Ken Messere has produced a valuable guide on tax policies in the main western industrial countries. ... He provides a mine of information about where governments have gone wrong & gives valuable clues as to what they should & should not do." Financial Times, 19 July 1993 In this wide-ranging book, Ken Messere, for twenty years head of the OECD's Fiscal Affairs Division, analyses the domestic tax policy choices of OECD governments over three decades. With unique insight, & drawing on 30 years' top-level experience in matters of tax policy, he illuminates complex issues involved in designing different types of taxes & in maintaining or reforming existing tax levels & structures. This publication is the first to expose country practices & the reasoning behind government decisions on tax & is the first to collate & condense almost 30 years of OECD reports into a single, convenient reference source. The first part of the book comprises a detailed assessment of tax developments in OECD countries between 1965 & 1992, reviewing past reforms & suggesting future practice. The two great waves of tax reform since the 1960s - the shift to VAT & the slashing of personal & corporate tax rates (accompanied by a widening of the corporate base) - are both covered in depth. The book moves on to explore analytical & policy issues, ranging from the relationships between taxation & savings behaviour to irrationalities in tax policy. The third part of the book is devoted to an examination of policy, legal, administrative & technical issues faced by governments in designing or reforming particular taxes, including personal income tax, net wealth & other individual taxes, as well as corporate taxes; in each case, taxes are surveyed across the OECD & Mr. Messere's propositions are backed up by over 100 comparative statistical tables & charts. The detailed factual background, combined with thought-provoking ideas, succinct, lucid writing & full glossary, bibliography & index, make this book an invaluable source of information & insight for all tax & business professionals.