Taxation and Development: Again

Michael Keen

No 2012/220, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: Issues of taxation and development, which have long been a central concern of the IMF, have attracted wider and renewed interest in the last few years. This paper reflects on three broad lessons of experience: that developing countries differ vastly in tax matters, and in ways that are less than fully understood; that the history of ‘big ideas’ in guiding tax reform for developing countries is decidedly mixed; and that the value of the emphasis often placed in this context on ‘informality’ is decidedly limited. It also asks whether ideas of ‘state building’ emphasized in some of the recent literature are likely to lead to practical advice much different from that commonly offered now.

Keywords: WP; State building; revenue authority; progressive tax; building state institution; literature stresses formalization; State-building literature; tax system; Taxation and development; large taxpayer office; informality; Lusophone African country; personal income; land inequality; VAT withholding; colonizing country; Value-added tax; Personal income; Income and capital gains taxes; Tax administration core functions; Sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30
Date: 2012-09-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (37)

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