It is said that nothing in this world can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Yet, we neither have valid vital statistics nor reliable information on taxes for many developing countries. While the importance of taxation for development is increasingly recognised, basic data on whether a country is collecting more taxes now…
The past three decades have seen sweeping changes in the means by which many developing countries collect fiscal revenues. From a heavy reliance on trade taxes in the 1980’s, many low and middle-income countries, with guidance and support from the IMF, have seen their tax mixes change toward a greater reliance on consumption taxes such…
Big data has been creeping in all aspects of our lives. There is now an unimaginably vast amount of data, and it is rapidly growing by the day. Sadly, there is surprisingly little data – especially accurate data – on how much money governments raise from taxes, and from where they raise the money. This is…
It is well-established that urban property tax is among the most underutilised revenue sources in Africa. Many cities across the continent are economically booming today, with construction sectors driving economic growth and international investment in property rising. More often than not, however, this is happening in the absence of effective property taxation. This is not only a…
I recently had the privilege of attending the launch of the ICTD Government Revenue Dataset (GRD) in Washington DC. Having had early access to this data for some time now, I feel well placed to shed some light on why researchers should sit up and take notice of this exciting endeavor. The ICTD (GRD) offers…
Taxation is important for development, not only because taxes provide the revenues to fund public services and infrastructure, but because they are a critical accountability link between governments and citizens. Regular headlines and report findings tell us that a major problem keeping poor countries poor is that large corporations use clever techniques to avoid paying…
The Tax Justice Network has just published a report that starts from the assertion that the OECD and the G20 have been engaged in a ‘marketing campaign’ to ‘discredit and discourage’ the participation of developing countries in a new system of automatic information exchange for tax purposes being established by the OECD and the G20.[1] The…
Krishen Mehta, a Senior Adviser to TJN, has written a short document with ten pointers offering ways that developing countries can take control over their tax destinies. We reproduce his article below: Introduction: The question of how developing countries get a fair deal on tax justice is an important and sensitive one. It goes to the heart…
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes – Benjamin Franklin, 1789 [1] Globalisation has made Benjamin Franklin’s famous assertion somewhat relative. Transnational Corporations (TNCs) operating in the global economy have a wide range of possibilities to avoid their responsibility to pay taxes. Recently, TNCs across different sectors have been involved…
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…
The developing world and Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular, is witnessing a renewed global race for its resources. From mid-2000 to recent years, the real price has multiplied several times for key minerals, despite a recent slowdown. This change is most likely part of what could be characterised as a fourth super cycle in mineral…
On July 19, the OECD released its recommendations for global efforts to counter the much-publicised phenomenon of “base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).”1 Base erosion is the use of legal arrangements by members of multinational business groups to shift income from affiliates located in countries where the group conducts business activities, to affiliates in low-…
