While developing countries have acknowledged the importance of domestic resource mobilization in development, in practice, not enough attention is being paid to the importance of tax bargains. Attempting to increase tax-to-GDP ratios without promoting negotiations between the taxing authorities and those being taxed is bound to undermine sustainable tax collection and promote poor governance. Successful…
A new study shows that Value-Added-Tax can be used to educate people outside the reach of direct income taxation on their role as tax-paying citizens. Improved tax compliance could be the outcome. As aid continues to dwindle day after day, raising domestic tax revenues is increasingly becoming an important priority for most African countries. Raising…
There is good news in the agenda for the Third Financing for Development Conference to be held in Addis Ababa on 13-16th July. For the first time, domestic resource mobilization is more prominent than international aid. The emphasis is on the ways in which the governments of developing countries can raise and leverage more financial resources for development….
India keeps getting into arguments with foreign firms over tax; is it wise to do so? The Financial Times, for one, is in no doubt that India is scaring off foreign investors, and that it is making a mistake. A recent editorial had the unambiguous title: India’s tax laws are deterring investors. The immediate trigger…
In November of last year I visited Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a conference on tax and development. It was organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, together with the International Centre for Tax and Development at IDS. After the conference, my friend Anjali asked me about what had been discussed, and what it meant to her as a citizen of…
