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161. Taxing for a More Equal Kenya: A five-point Action Plan to Tackle Inequality

Author:
Catherine Ngina Mutava and Bernadette Wanjala
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Extreme inequality is out of control in Kenya. Less than 0.1% of the population (8,300 people) own more wealth than the bottom 99.9% (more than 44 million people). Tackling inequality could help to lift millions out of poverty, secure sustainable economic growth and bring the country together. Inequality is not inevitable and the government can reduce it to sustainable levels. This report argues that If Kenya increased its tax-to-GDP ratio by 3 percentage points in 2014 it could have raised enough additional funds to ensure quality healthcare for all Kenyans. By delivering on Oxfam’s five-point action plan to tax and spend effectively, the government would ensure a more equal and prosperous future for all Kenyans.
Topic:
Education, Health Care Policy, Inequality, and Tax Systems
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

162. Taxing for Shared Prosperity: Policy Options for the Asia-Pacific Region

Author:
Mustafa Talpur and Jian Zheng
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The Asia-Pacific region was a model for ‘growing with equity’ in the 1970s and 1980s. Rapid economic growth was achieved without major increases in inequality. However an economic take-off and market-oriented reforms in recent years, despite helping hundreds of millions to be lifted out of extreme poverty, has been accompanied by growing income and wealth gaps between rich and poor. This increase in inequality has greatly diminished the ability of economic growth to reduce poverty. This report suggests a course for the region’s economies to be defined by inclusive growth and shared prosperity. It argues that tax policies can play an essential role in an effective pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal 10, which calls for reducing inequality. Taxes provide the main public revenue source for financing essential public programmes for inclusive development, such as healthcare, education, social protection and welfare schemes. And taxes can become a powerful policy tool for direct redistribution of income and wealth in a society.
Topic:
Education, Health Care Policy, Inequality, and Tax Systems
Political Geography:
Asia and Asia-Pacific

163. The Economic Impact of the University of the West of England

Author:
Andy Logan and Alice Gambarin
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
In total, UWE Bristol is estimated to have supported 8,280 jobs in the West of England, or one in every 79 people in employment in the area. Some 59 percent was as a result of the University’s expenditure, with the remainder of jobs stimulated by additional students’ and their visitors’ spending. The University contributed £400.1 million in gross value added to the West of England economy. This is equivalent to 1.3 percent of the local economy. As a result of this activity, in 2014/15, the University, its employees, additional students, and their visitors supported a £88.7million tax contribution to the Exchequer. The University had a major impact on businesses and the local economy through its role in the supply of graduate talent. A significant proportion of the thousands of graduates from the University annually are employed within the city-region, including many of those attracted to study at UWE Bristol from elsewhere.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Tax Systems, Local, Higher Education, and Public Service
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

164. Tax Compliance Africans Affirm Civic Duty but Lack Trust in Tax Department

Author:
Thomas Isbell
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
In any economy, balancing expenditures, revenues, and debts is a delicate and often politicized task. Competing interests and priorities buffet those tasked with planning a viable and stable national budget. For any state, taxes raised from individuals and businesses are a central plinth supporting the provision of services, the maintenance of infrastructure, the employment of civil servants, and the smooth functioning of the state. In many African countries, however, tax evasion leaves states with major holes in their budgetary pockets. A 2015 report by the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa cites tax abuse as an important contributor (along with laundering of criminal proceeds, corruption, and market abuse) to an estimated $30 billion to $60 billion per year that African governments lose to illicit financial flows, hampering growth through state investment, improvements in education and health services, and lower debt commitments abroad (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2015a, 2015b; Guardian, 2015). The 2016 leaks of the “Panama Papers” exposing tax evasion and fraud among many African and world leaders and their families further underlined the magnitude of the burden that tax evasion places on the continent (Kuo, 2016; Copley, 2016). Moreover, low tax compliance weakens the state’s ability to invest and develop. In 2005, only 15% of gross domestic product (GDP) in developing countries derived from taxes, compared to 35% in developed countries (Fuest & Riedel, 2009). In some of the poorest countries, this proportion was 12%. Cobham (2005) estimates that low tax compliance in developing countries costs around $285 billion per year. For many Africans, however, not paying taxes may be less a matter of choice than of insufficient efficacy. As Aiko and Logan (2014) report, majorities of Africans say it is difficult to find out what taxes they’re supposed to pay and how their government uses tax revenues, and many see tax officials as corrupt. Ali, Fjeldstad, & Sjursen (2013) have found that not understanding how taxes are used is negatively correlated with tax compliance. They also point out that many Africans pay private or non-state providers for services that would commonly be provided by the state, which might also tend to depress tax compliance. This paper examines the views and experiences of ordinary Africans related to tax compliance. Afrobarometer survey data indicate that a strong majority of Africans see paying taxes as a civic duty that is important to a country’s development and should be fulfilled regardless of whether one is dissatisfied with government services. But low levels of public trust and high levels of perceived corruption in the tax department dampen citizens’ support for tax compliance.
Topic:
Civil Society, Governance, Tax Systems, Bureaucracy, and Tax Evasion
Political Geography:
Africa

165. Volume 67 Issue 1

Author:
Haluk Alkan
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Istanbul Journal of Economics
Institution:
Istanbul University Faculty of Economics
Abstract:
Istanbul Journal of Economics-İstanbul İktisat Dergisi is an open access, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal published two times a year in June and December. It has been an official publication of Istanbul University Faculty of Economics since 1939. The manuscripts submitted for publication in the journal must be scientific and original work in Turkish or English. Being one of the earliest peer-reviewed academic journals in Turkey in the area of economics, Istanbul Journal of Economics-İstanbul İktisat Dergisi aims to provide a forum for exploring issues in basicly economics and publish both disciplinary and multidisciplinary articles. Economics is the main scope of the journal. However, multidisciplinary and comparative approaches are encouraged as well and articles from various social science areas such as sociology of economics, history, social policy, international relations, financial studies are welcomed in this regard. The target group of the journal consists of academicians, researchers, professionals, students, related professional and academic bodies and institutions.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, Political Science, and Tax Systems
Political Geography:
Turkey and Global Focus

166. Study and Reports on the VAT Gap in the EU-28 Member States: 2017 Final Report

Author:
Grzegorz Poniatowski, Mikhail Bonch-Osmolovsky, and Misha V. Belkindas
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
CASE prepared a new study for the European Commission on the VAT Gap in the European Union in 2015. The figures offer an important snapshot of the problems of collecting VAT in the EU and what needs to be done to improve revenues and fight tax fraud. During 2015, the overall VAT that should have been collected in EU Member States grew by about 4.2 %, while collected VAT revenues rose by 5.8 %. As a result, the overall VAT Gap in the EU Member States decreased by about €8.7 billion in absolute terms, down to €151.5 billion. As a percentage, the overall VAT Gap decreased by 2.1 % to 12.7 %. In 2015, the highest VAT Gap was recorded in Romania with a figure of 37.18 %. In absolute terms, the highest VAT Gap of €35 billion was in Italy. Overall, the VAT Gap decreased in most Member States, with the largest improvements noted in Malta, Romania and Spain. The VAT Gap measured in this study includes for the first time revenues emerging from new VAT rules for cross-border sales of e-services which came into force on 1 January 2015, following a Commission proposal. CASE's team was led by Grzegorz Poniatowski, Director of Fiscal Policy Studies, and composed of Mikhail Bonch-Osmolovskiy and Misha Belkindas.
Topic:
European Union, Tax Systems, Fiscal Policy, and VAT
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, and European Union

167. Mutual Learning for Reducing Tax Gaps in V4 Countries and Ukraine Peer Country Paper: Poland

Author:
Iakov Frizis, Krzysztof Głowacki, and Katarzyna Mirecka
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
Tax administration has been improving in Poland in recent years. The country moved from a ranking of 128 to a ranking of 47 in the Paying Taxes indicator of the World Bank’s Doing Business report between its 2012 and 2017 editions. However, compliance with taxes still requires 271 man hours, compared to the European Union (EU) & European Free Trade Association (EFTA) average of 173 man-hours and to the top Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) performer Estonia’s 81 man-hours. Polish tax legislation has been described as complex by some observers and not overly complex by other observers, while many emphasise that it is improving at a good pace. The paper summarizes knowledge on tax gaps in Poland with respect to PIT, CIT, VAT, and excise. An introduction to the Polish tax system is given, trends in tax collectability and estimates of the tax gaps are discussed, and methods of combating tax evasion and avoidance are reviewed. The paper has been written as part of the project “Mutual Learning for Reducing Tax Gaps in V4 Countries and Ukraine” co-financed by the Visegrad Fund in the years 2016-2017.
Topic:
Financial Crimes, Tax Systems, Free Trade, Fiscal Policy, and VAT
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, Poland, and European Union

168. Mutual Learning for Reducing Tax Gaps in V4 Countries and Ukraine Final Report

Author:
Iakov Frizis and Krzysztof Głowacki
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
ax gaps, or the differences between tax amounts that are due by the taxpayers and the amounts that are actually collected by the state, remain a challenge for many European Union (EU) Member States, including for the V4 countries. Tax gaps also present a formidable challenge for Ukraine, which is currently reforming many aspects of its financial and legal systems. To help increase awareness about tax compliance and exchange knowledge on the state-of-the-art methods used to combat tax gaps, the project Mutual Learning for Reducing Tax Gaps in V4 Countries and Ukraine has been implemented. The paper is a summary of the exchange of knowledge and experience that took place in the course of the project co-financed by the Visegrad Fund in the years 2016–2017.
Topic:
Economics, Tax Systems, Fiscal Policy, and VAT
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, Poland, and European Union

169. Social harmonization and labor market performance in Europe

Author:
Katarzyna Mirecka and Izabela Styczynska
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The paper aims to assess the impact of selected elements of social harmonization on labor market performance in the European Union among two groups of workers—the total working population and the elderly. The aim is to examine whether upward changes in labor taxes affect employment, unemployment, and inactivity rates in the European Union. The descriptive empirical evidence shows that the level of labor taxation varies significantly across European countries and the introduced changes might affect national markets differently. The Arellano-Bond dynamic panel data regression shows that an increase in the tax wedge, as an element of a social harmonization process, has a very weak impact on labor market performance in the European Union. The impact is statistically significant and negative only for the elderly (i.e. the population aged 50+). Empirical analysis suggests that upward social convergence might negatively affect the employment of the most disfavored groups in the labor market, such as the elderly. It suggests that social harmonization focused on reducing the tax wedge would have favorable effects on labor market performance, especially among the most disadvantaged groups. This report was prepared within a research project entitled “SocialBoost – effective measures of social harmonization as a boost for employability in times of demographic changes”, which received funding under the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Programme for NGOs in the Baltic Sea Region.
Topic:
Demographics, Labor Issues, Social Policy, Tax Systems, and Social Security
Political Geography:
Europe and European Union

170. More for less: What tax system for Poland?

Author:
Stanisław Gomułka, Jarosław Neneman, and Michał Myck
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
What are the challenges facing Poland’s economy and tax system over the next 20 years? What does the optimal tax system mean? Do we have high taxes in Poland? The goal of the publication is to initiate a discussion on the subject of a tax system for Poland, presenting a framework within which the current system should be analyzed and conclusions drawn about what changes are needed over the longer term. Professor Stanisław Gomułka, chief economist of the Business Centre Club, analyzes the challenges facing Poland’s economy and tax system over the next 20 years. Jarosław Neneman, an assistant professor at Łazarski University, presents the basic parameters for a planned academic research project on how to use the Polish tax system effectively. Michał Myck, director and board member of CenEA (the Center for Economic Analysis) describes the optimal characteristics of a tax system according to theory and the results of scholarly research, which of course also relates to the Polish tax system.
Topic:
Economics, Finance, Tax Systems, and Fiscal Policy
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, and European Union