Transfer Pricing and Developing Economies


Book Description

Recent years have seen unprecedented public scrutiny over the tax practices of Multinational Enterprise (MNE) groups. Tax policy and administration concerning international transactions, aggressive tax planning, and tax avoidance have become an issue of extensive national and international debate in developed and developing countries alike. Within this context, transfer pricing, historically a subject of limited specialist interest, has attained name recognition amongst a broader global audience that is concerned with equitable fiscal policy and sustainable development. Abusive transfer pricing practices are considered to pose major risk to the direct tax base of many countries and developing countries are particularly vulnerable because corporate tax tends to account for a larger share of their revenue. This handbook is part of the wider WBG engagement in supporting countries with Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) by protecting their tax base and aims to cover all relevant aspects that have to be considered when introducing or strengthening transfer pricing regimes. The handbook provides guidance on analytical steps that can be taken to understand a country’s potential exposure to inappropriate transfer pricing (transfer mispricing) and outlines the main areas that require attention in the design and implementation of transfer pricing regimes. A discussion of relevant aspects of the legislative process, including the formulation of a transfer pricing policy, and the role and content of administrative guidance, is combined with the presentation of country examples on the practical application and implementation of the arm’s length principle and on running an effective transfer pricing audit program. Recognizing the importance of transfer pricing regulation and administration for the business environment and investor confidence, this handbook aims to balance the general objective of protecting a country’s tax base and raising additional revenue with investment climate considerations wherever appropriate.




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.




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 Policy for Developing Countries


Book Description

Discusses important tax policy issues facing developing countries today, provides a review of the role of tax incentives, and identifies some policy challenges posed by the globalization of the world economy. Draws on country cases.




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.




Reform by Numbers


Book Description

This book was written in the context of new and innovative policies for customs and tax administration reform. Eight chapters describe how measurement and various quantification techniques may be used to fight against corruption, improve cross-border celerity, boost revenue collection, and optimize the use of public resources. More than presenting “best practices” and due to the association of academics and practitioners, the case studies explore the conditions under which measurement has been introduced and the effects on the administrative structure, and its relations with the political authority and the users. By analyzing the introduction of measurement to counter corruption and improve revenue collection in Cameroon, two chapters describe to which extent the professional culture has changed and what effects have been noted or not on the public accountability of fiscal administrations. Two other chapters present experiments of uses of quantification to develop risk analysis in Cameroon and Senegal. By using mirror analysis on the one hand and data mining on the other hand, these two examples highlight the importance of automated customs clearance systems which collect daily extensive data on users, commodities flows and officials. One chapter develops the idea of measuring smuggling to improve the use of human and material resources in Algeria and nurture the questioning on the adaptation of a legal framework to the social context of populations living near borders. Finally, two examples of measurement policies, in France and in South Korea, enlighten the diversity of measurement, the specificities of developing countries and the convergences between developing and developed countries on common stakes such as trade facilitation and better use of public funds.




Tax Administration in Developing Countries


Book Description

This paper examines the role of tax administration in developing countries from an economic perspective. The traditional separation of tax policy and tax administration in the literature is shown to break down in developing countries, where tax administrators decide in what manner complicated tax legislation should actually be applied. After surveying economic literature dealing with tax administration, the paper offers guidelines on how tax administrators can help implement more efficient and equitable tax systems.




World Development Indicators 2016


Book Description

World Development Indicators 2016 provides a compilation of relevant, high-quality, and internationally comparable statistics about global development and the fight against poverty. It is intended to help policymakers, students, analysts, professors, program managers, and citizens find and use data related to all aspects of development, including those that help monitor progress toward the World Bank Group’s two goals of ending poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Six themes are used to organize indicators—world view, people, environment, economy, states and markets, and global links. WDI 2016 includes: •A selection of the most popular indicators across 214 economies and 14 country groups organized into six WDI themes •A new section on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has replaced the one on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). •The SDG section covers all 17 goals, and important targets to achieve these goals. Each goal has been presented in a maximum 2-page spread with selected indicators to explain the targets. •Each of the remaining sections includes an introduction, a map, a table of the most relevant and popular indicators for that theme together with a discussion of indicator compilation methodology. •A user guide describing resources available online and on mobile apps. Download the WDI DataFinder Mobile App and other Data Apps at data.worldbank.org/apps. WDI DataFinder is a mobile app for browsing the current WDI database on smartphones and tablets, using iOS and Android, available in four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Chinese. Use the app to: •Browse data using the structure of the WDI •Visually compare countries and indicators •Create, edit, and save customized tables, charts, and maps •Share what you create on Twitter, Facebook, and via email




Tax Policy in Developing Countries


Book Description

World Bank Technical Paper No. 140. Also available: Volume 1 (ISBN 0-8213-1843-8) Stock No. 11843; Volume 3 (ISBN 0-8213-1845-4) Stock No. 11845. Provides state-of-the-art guidance and information on the procedural requirements and practical aspects of environmental assessment in various sector- and location-specific contexts. Three volumes also available in Arabic: Volume 1 (ISBN 0-8213-3523-5) Stock No. 13523; Volume 2 (ISBN 0-8213-3617-7) Stock No. 13617; Volume 3 (ISBN 0-8213-3618-5) Stock No. 13618.




International Public Goods


Book Description

Increasingly, the consequences of globalization call for the involvement not only of national governments but of the international development community as a whole. Such involvement needs to occur within a comprehensive framework that encompasses stakeholders from government, non-governmental organizations, and businesses acting together in partnership. This requires the leveraging of general aid and country-focused development resources along with encouraging private financing participation. 'International Public Goods' explains different ways that this type of framework might be structured and focuses on different financing strategies that can be developed. It acknowledges the value of country specific efforts while recommending a multi-national approach to addressing problems resulting from globalization. This book evaluates the concepts fundamental to the term ?public goods? and details alternative governance structures including the role of incentives.