This paper presents the findings from a feasibility study on the potential for developing a static tax-benefit microsimulation model for Tanzania. The paper provides an account of the current tax-benefit system in Tanzania and introduces the survey dataset which could function as the...

This paper assesses the feasibility of developing a tax and benefit microsimulation model in Rwanda. Tax-benefit microsimulation can be used to explore ways in which national development goals can be achieved in a cost-effective manner, and to assess the distributional effects of more...

This paper assesses the feasibility of simulating the distributional impacts produced by various tax and transfer instruments in Viet Nam. Viet Nam's system of tax and transfer policies underwent frequent changes, in terms of diversity and adjustment scope. The most important source of data is...

This paper proposes to understand a singular but salient factor that enables the wealthy to deflect their tax burden downwards: elites' political leverage to shape legislation via their capacity to influence political actors and policy outcomes. The analysis sheds light on alternative mechanisms...

Personal income tax is attracting more attention from the Vietnamese government, which has been looking for a way to reinforce its budget revenue. Although this tax plays an increasing role, representing 7.3 per cent of the revenue expected in 2018, this figure is still small, suggesting an...

In this paper we study the effects of various tax schedule discontinuities on the behavior of small firms using high-quality and population-wide tax register data from South Africa. We use the bunching method to analyse how these discontinuities affect the firm-size distribution. We first...

The problem of debt bias can be tackled through either disincentivizing the use of debt financing or incentivizing the use of equity financing. Considering the South African context - in which many firms are highly leveraged and the marginal effective tax rates for using debt financing are...

Refunds are an essential feature of well-functioning VAT systems and take up a sizeable portion of government spending. In South Africa, refunds amount to 50 per cent of gross VAT collection, representing a substantial transfer from the government to taxpayers that has to occur at relatively...

We evaluate a major personal income tax reform in Uganda that came into effect in 2012-13. The reform increased the tax-free lower threshold, increased tax rates for higher incomes, and introduced an additional highest tax band. Using the universe of pay-as-you-earn administrative data submitted...

Rising levels of income inequality and tight government budgets have spurred discussions in many developing nations about how to appropriately tax high-income earners. In this paper, we study taxpayer responses to an increase in the top marginal tax rate in South Africa, drawing on exceptionally...