This paper highlights the difference between statutory and effective tax rates in the value added tax in China, and explores the role of administrative discretion in generating this difference. In China, unlike in Europe where the VAT originated, there can be significant differences between...

In 2005, the German government announced a far-reaching fiscal adjustment program. This paper uses the IMF's Global Fiscal Model to study its impact and explores options for addressing long-term pressures from population aging. The growth effects of the planned VAT increase are likely modest,...

This paper highlights the difference between statutory and effective tax rates in the value added tax in China, and explores the role of administrative discretion in generating this difference. In China, unlike in Europe where the VAT originated, there can be significant differences between...

This paper presents numerical simulation results that suggest that China can both reduce its trade imbalance and receive welfare benefits by switching the value added tax (VAT) regime from the current destination principle to an origin principle. With the tax on exports exceeding that no longer...

China's VAT while seemingly conventional has two major impurities. One is that a separate export rebate system exists where rebate rates are linked from rates paid on creditable inputs. The other is the use of an income base for which there is no crediting of taxes on capital good, rather than...

Increases in German core inflation following the 2007 VAT hike were smaller than expected, leading to speculation about delayed inflationary effects. This paper argues to the contrary that price increases in advance of the VAT hike explain the small increase upon implementation. We find that...