Taxation and Gender Equity


Book Description

Around the world, there are concerns that many tax codes are biased against women, and that contemporary tax reforms tend to increase the incidence of taxation on the poorest women while failing to generate enough revenue to fund the programs needed to improve these women's lives. Because taxes are the key source of revenue governments themselves raise, understanding the nature and composition of taxation and current tax reform efforts is key to reducing poverty, providing sufficient revenue for public expenditure, and achieving social justice. This is the first book to systematically examine gender and taxation within and across countries at different levels of development. It presents original research on the gender dimensions of personal income taxes, and value-added, excise, and fuel taxes in Argentina, Ghana, India, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, Uganda and the United Kingdom. This book will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers studying Public Finance, International Economics, Development Studies, Gender Studies, and International Relations, among other disciplines.




Taxation and State-Building in Developing Countries


Book Description

There is a widespread concern that, in some parts of the world, governments are unable to exercise effective authority. When governments fail, more sinister forces thrive: warlords, arms smugglers, narcotics enterprises, kidnap gangs, terrorist networks, armed militias. Why do governments fail? This book explores an old idea that has returned to prominence: that authority, effectiveness, accountability and responsiveness is closely related to the ways in which governments are financed. It matters that governments tax their citizens rather than live from oil revenues and foreign aid, and it matters how they tax them. Taxation stimulates demands for representation, and an effective revenue authority is the central pillar of state capacity. Using case studies from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, this book presents and evaluates these arguments, updates theories derived from European history in the light of conditions in contemporary poorer countries, and draws conclusions for policy-makers.




Taxing Africa


Book Description

Taxation has been seen as the domain of charisma-free accountants, lawyers and number crunchers – an unlikely place to encounter big societal questions about democracy, equity or good governance. Yet it is exactly these issues that pervade conversations about taxation among policymakers, tax collectors, civil society activists, journalists and foreign aid donors in Africa today. Tax has become viewed as central to African development. Written by leading international experts, Taxing Africa offers a cutting-edge analysis on all aspects of the continent's tax regime, displaying the crucial role such arrangements have on attempts to create social justice and push economic advancement. From tax evasion by multinational corporations and African elites to how ordinary people navigate complex webs of 'informal' local taxation, the book examines the potential for reform, and how space might be created for enabling locally-led strategies.




Making the Property Tax Work


Book Description

Students of public finance and fiscal decentralization in developing and transitional countries have long argued for more intensive use of the property tax. It would seem the ideal choice for financing local government services. Based on a Lincoln Institute conference held in October 2006, the chapters in this book take this argument one step further in drawing on recent experience with property tax policy and administration. Two main sets of issues are addressed. First, why hasn't the property tax worked well in most developing and transitional countries? Second, what can be done to make the property tax a more relevant source for local governments in those countries? The numerous advantages of the property tax as a local government revenue source are analyzed and discussed in detail as are the many perceived disadvantages.




Tax, Law and Development


Book Description

'Anyone working on tax policy for middle and low income countries will consider this book a must-read. Economic globalization of capital markets and multinational corporations has overtaken the abilities of many countries to tax incomes of multinationals and individual residents. From extraction industries to fiscal federalism, the papers demonstrate the importance of sound legal frameworks and formal cooperation across multiple countries and levels of government for implementing sound tax policy in developing nations.' – Michael J. Wasylenko, Syracuse University, US Comprising original essays written by top legal scholars, this innovative volume is the most comprehensive collection to date of independent academic work exploring the relationship between tax, law and development. Contributors cover a range of tax issues, drawing on economic, political, social, and institutional perspectives to offer a comprehensive view of how tax laws affect and are affected by human economic development. Hailing from across the globe, contributors offer expert insight into tax issues in China, Brazil, South Africa, India, and other developing countries. Following a thorough examination of current policy approaches to tax problems in developing nations, the writers conclude that new solutions are needed, and outline a number of groundbreaking ideas and proposals designed to mitigate many of the problems associated with tax law and economic development. Professors, students, and researchers with an interest in tax, law, development, and globalization will find much to admire in this critical and groundbreaking addition to the literature.




Taxation in Developing Countries


Book Description

Taxes are a crucial policy issue, especially in developing countries. Just recently, proposals to raise middle-class taxes toppled the Bolivian government, and plans to extend or increase the value-added tax caused political unrest in Ecuador and Mexico. Despite the impact of tax policy on developing countries, a comprehensive study has yet to be written. Treating Argentina, Brazil, India, Kenya, Korea, and Russia as key case studies, this volume outlines the major aspects of current tax codes and explores their economic and political implications. Examples of both the poorest and wealthiest developing countries, Argentina, Brazil, India, Kenya, Korea, and Russia uniquely demonstrate the diverse fiscal problems of tax reform. Each economy relies heavily on indirect and corporate income taxes, though recently some have reduced their tariff rates and have switched from excise to value-added taxes. There is a large, informal economy in most of these countries, and tax evasion by firms is a significant concern. As a result, tax revenue remains low, even though rates are as high as those in developed economies. Also, unconventional methods to collect revenue have been implemented, including bank debit taxes, state ownership of firms, and implicit taxes on individuals in the informal sector. Exploring these and other concerns, as well as changes in tax law, administration, and fiscal pressures, this comprehensive anthology clarifies the current landscape of tax administration and the economic future of the world's poorer economies.




Taxation and Development


Book Description

Issues of taxation and development, which have long been a central concern of the IMF, have attracted wider and renewed interest in the last few years. This paper reflects on three broad lessons of experience: that developing countries differ vastly in tax matters, and in ways that are less than fully understood; that the history of ‘big ideas’ in guiding tax reform for developing countries is decidedly mixed; and that the value of the emphasis often placed in this context on ‘informality’ is decidedly limited. It also asks whether ideas of ‘state building’ emphasized in some of the recent literature are likely to lead to practical advice much different from that commonly offered now.




Taxation in Developing Countries


Book Description

Selection of studies relating to taxation in developing countries. The papers are organized under the following subjects: approaches to development taxation, lessons from experience, taxation and incentives, problems in direct taxation, the reform of indirect taxation, the role of local taxes, tax administration and tax policy. Contributors: Carl S. Shoup, Vito Tanzi, Richard Goode, Charles E. McLure, Richard Bird, Oliver Oldman, Sijbren Cnossen and many others.




Tax Policy and Economic Development


Book Description

Evaluation of the unique conditions that apply to developing nations and an examination of their impact on both the kinds of taxes that may be raised and the effective administration of tax policy.




Taxation and Economic Development


Book Description

First published in 1978. The tax system is one of the instruments said to be available to translate development policy objectives into practice. The wide-ranging papers collected together in this volume, first published in 1978, explore different aspects of the link between national development objectives and the tax system. Attention is particularly focused on traditional aims such as growth, fair distribution and economic stabilisation and development. Articles written by distinguished experts in the fields of public finance and economic development clarify the concepts of taxable capacity and tax effort, and examine the connections between growth and changes within the tax system.