Never has there been such extensive popular and political interest in tax reform. Never have so many governments declared that they intend to change the global tax system and ensure that transnational corporations pay their fair share. Never have arcane issues like ‘transfer mispricing’ received so much media coverage. And never have there been…
In recent years, tax exemptions for donor-financed projects have come to the fore within the international community.[1] Interest has increased because of the need to improve domestic resource mobilisation (DRM). This has become all the more necessary following a series of recent development crises, which led to a predictable decrease in the volume of aid (it decreased by…
A new report from the OECD is contemplating major changes to international tax rules. This is a progress report on its project on ‘base erosion and profit shifting’ (BEPS), which highlights the large tax revenue losses to countries around the world due to tax avoidance by transnational corporations (TNCs). This interim report was called for by the…
Along with a colleague who is a specialist on Latin America, I recently attended a meeting in Africa on African tax issues. After a couple of days of discussions, my colleague told me that he was surprised that so much attention had been paid to company taxation. By contrast, he said, in Latin America there…
The ICTD Annual Centre Meeting on tax exemptions concluded with a presentation by Professor Richard Bird. Drawing on his vast experience, Professor Bird summarised key practical messages about tax exemptions, while challenging the audience to move beyond the stale debates that have been repeated for almost four decades. His key message on systems of tax…
For people living in the Eastern villages of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it is often impossible to carry out daily activities without being taxed. But can an ‘all-pervasive system of taxation’ have an upside?” Katherine Haver discusses how taxation affects people’s livelihoods. Read more…
In August of this year, the UK Parliament’s International Development Select Committee published a report on its investigations into DFID’s work on tax and development. The process was in some ways impressive. A number of MPs on the Committee showed a real interest in the topic. A visit to Zambia brought them right up…
I thought not. And, by the way, formulary apportionment is not directly connected to children’s milk food formulae – although more of it in our lives should ensure that more under-nourished babies are better fed. Formulary apportionment is all about taxation of transnational corporations. It is very complex. But the principles are quite straightforward. The reality of transnational corporations’…
Trust in local government authorities and social influence affects people’s decision to pay for local services. It is widely believed that non-payment of public services by citizens is due to their inability to pay as a result of poverty and other socio-economic conditions. However, an analysis of two surveys conducted in South Africa, shows…
Capital flight by high net worth individuals is a serious problem for many developing countries. Although the quantification of offshore wealth holdings and the associated overall revenue losses is difficult, they are generally considered to be sizable. While not necessarily all capital relocations from developing economies are illegal and motivated by tax purposes, many offshore…
In recent years, the literature has brought forward interesting insights and stimulating new research activities, but many of the central questions still remain unanswered. For some time, the policy and academic debate has treated tax haven economies (as defined by conventional tax haven lists) as a homogenous group of countries, implicitly suggesting that they are…
Across the world, tax effort has been increasingly based on regressive consumption and payroll taxes, which depress consumption and employment. The current tax system is obsolete. It under-taxes financial wealth and transactions as well as negative externalities such as pollution and short-term capital flows, while simultaneously over-taxing the manufacturing sector, public services and, in…
