The design and implementation of minibus taxi presumptive taxes

Godwin Dube

The Service Industries Journal, 2018, vol. 38, issue 11-12, 723-741

Abstract: This paper assesses the design of Zimbabwe’s minibus taxi presumptive taxes that were first implemented in 2005 and evaluates them in terms of administrative effectiveness, equity and economic efficiency. The implications of these factors on tax compliance are also analysed. A mixed-methods approach was used where quantitative data were complemented by qualitative interviews with taxi operators and key informants from the country’s tax authority. The results suggest that presumptive taxes were poorly designed and administered with many operators going untaxed. The ‘informal taxes’ (bribes and ‘fees’) levied by corrupt officials, ‘committees’ and touts also resulted in taxes that did not promote equity or efficiency. Despite the numerous challenges identified, the article highlights key lessons for countries that are also trying to tax minibus taxis such as the importance of negotiating with taxi associations around taxation and the encouragement of quasi-voluntary compliance through the implementation of well-researched turnover-based presumptive taxes.

Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/02642069.2018.1471138 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:servic:v:38:y:2018:i:11-12:p:723-741

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/FSIJ20

DOI: 10.1080/02642069.2018.1471138

Access Statistics for this article

The Service Industries Journal is currently edited by Eileen Bridges, Professor Domingo Ribeiro, Ronald Goldsmith, Barry Howcroft and Youjae Yi

More articles in The Service Industries Journal from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().