In developed countries, the income tax, especially the personal income tax, has long been viewed as the primary instrument for redistributing income and wealth. This article examines whether it makes sense for developing countries to rely on the income tax for redistributive purposes. We put...

An important characteristic of many countries is that they exhibit, to greater or lesser degrees, some 'asymmetry' in the way in which different regions are treated by their intergovernmental fiscal systems. This paper explores some of the varied extents and manners in which such asymmetrical...

The main aim of this paper is to present a condensed version of some of the complex facts surrounding several major tax reforms in developing countries so that those concerned with such matters elsewhere can learn and profit from both the successes -- transitory though they may sometimes be --...

I argue in this paper that state value-added tax is more likely to be the right way to tax sales at the state level than seems to be recognized in most current US discussion. As Canadian experience demonstrates, a state VAT is both better in principle than even the best state retail sales tax...

The best tax policy in the world is worth little if it cannot be implemented effectively. Tax policy design in developing countries must therefore take the administrative dimension of taxation carefully into account. What can be done may to a considerable extent determine what is done in any...

Governments exist, in part, to cope with the weaknesses of their citizens and subsist, to some extent, on the basis of those same weaknesses. Alcoholic beverages have long played a critical role on both sides of this equation. Over-indulgence in drink is a factor in crime, injury, and illness....

This paper reviews the relationship, or lack of it, between two bodies of literature dealing, respectively, with cost-benefit analysis and the marginal cost of public funds (MCF). It argues that, while there are no simple answers to the question of how, or to what extent, different methods of...

In this paper we discuss some recent critical literature on VAT in developing countries relating to its revenue productivity, its equity, and its impact on the development of the formal economy. Illustrating our argument with reference to two recent country studies (of Ukraine and Jamaica) we...

Over a decade ago, several Canadian provinces replaced their retail sales taxes by value-added taxes. This paper estimates the effects of this tax substitution on business investment in the reforming provinces. Consistent with theory, we find that the reform led to significant increases in...

In Jamaica, as in most countries, consumption taxes in the form of a value-added tax called the General Consumption Tax (GCT) and several excise taxes collectively known as the Special Consumption Tax (SCT) are critically important revenue sources, accounting for 37.4 percent of total revenues...