The Challenges of Tax Reform in a Global Economy

by Alm, James; Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge; Rider, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780387299129
• ISBN10: 0387299122
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-02-28
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

This book presents 15 original papers and commentaries by a distinguished group of tax policy and tax administration experts. Using international examples, they highlight the state of knowledge of tax reform, present new thinking about the issue, and analyze useful policy options. The book's general goal is to examine the current and emerging challenges facing tax reformers and to assess possible directions future reforms are likely to take. More specific themes include distributional issues, how to tax capital income, how to design specific taxes (e.g., the income tax, the value-added tax, the property tax), how to consider the politics and administrative aspects of tax reform, and how to combine the separate insights into comprehensive tax reform.

Table of Contents

Contributing Authors	ix
PART 1 INTRODUCTION	1	(10)
Chapter 1 Thinking About Tax Reform in the Emerging Global Economy	3	(8)
James Alm, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, and Mark Rider
PART 2 TAXATION AND DISTRIBUTION	11	(64)
Chapter 2 Taxation and Income Distribution: Myth and Realities	13	(26)
Arnold C. Harberger
Chapter 3 Trade-Offs between Targeting and Simplicity: Lessons from the U.S. and British Experiences with Refundable Tax Credits	39	(34)
Janet Holtzblatt
Discussant Comments: Dagney Faulk	73	(2)
PART 3 THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION AND THE ROLE OF TAX INCENTIVES	75	(144)
Chapter 4 Transfer Pricing and Tax Havens: Mending the Revenue Nets of Developing and Transition Countries	77	(60)
Charles E. McLure, Jr.
Chapter 5 Taxation and FDI in Developed and Developing Countries	137	(18)
Timothy Goodspeed
Chapter 6 The Changing Structure of Tax Policies for Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries	155	(12)
Jack M. Mintz
Chapter 7 International Tax Competition and Tax Incentives in Developing Countries	167	(26)
Elisabeth Gugl and George R. Zodrow
Chapter 8 Tax Competition With and Without Preferential Treatment of A Highly-Mobile Tax Base	193	(14)
John Douglas Wilson
Discussant Comments: Rosanne Altshuler	207	(6)
Discussant Comments: Robert S. Chirinko	213	(6)
PART 4 TAX STRUCTURE REVISITED	219	(126)
Chapter 9 Can Developing Countries Impose An Individual Income Tax?	221	(28)
James Alm and Sally Wallace
Chapter 10 A Fresh Look at the VAT	249	(18)
Kelly D. Edmiston and William F. Fox
Chapter 11 The Property Tax in A New Environment: Lessons from Tax Reform Efforts In Transition Economies	267	(16)
Joan Youngman and Jane Malme
Chapter 12 Societal Institutions and Tax Effort in Developing Countries	283	(56)
Richard M. Bird, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, and Benno Torgler
Discussant Comments: Michael Rushton	339	(6)
PART 5 DOING IT! THE POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DIMENSIONS OF TAX REFORM	345	(100)
Chapter 13 Explaining Tax Reform	347	(16)
Walter Hettich and Stanley L. Winer
Chapter 14 Implications of Tax Administration for Tax Design: A Tentative Assessment	363	(50)
Arindam Das-Gupta
Chapter 15 The Role of Organizational Design in the Revenue Strategies of Developing Countries: Benchmarking with VAT Performance	413	(28)
William McCarten
Discussant Commends Luc Noiset	441	(4)
PART 6 LESSONS FOR POLICYMAKERS	445	(26)
Chapter 16 How to Approach Comprehensive Tax Reform: Have the Rules of the Game Changed?	447	(24)
Roy Bahl
INDEX	471