Using a panel of 97 mostly developing and transitional countries for the period 1990-2011, this paper explores fiscal implications of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Em-ploying robust difference-in-difference specifications as well as semi-parametric methods, we find that...

Despite various reform efforts over the years, the tax system in the Philippines continues to suffer from chronic weaknesses. Tax rates are high relative to the country's ASEAN neighbors, yet revenue productivity remains low. Filipino individual taxpayers are overburdened by personal income tax...

The harmonized European value-added tax (VAT) is anything but a modern consumption tax that taxes all goods and services at a uniform rate. As exemplified by an analysis of the Dutch version, some 60% of the base is exempted, that is, not taxed on output but on inputs. This has serious...

Despite various reform efforts over the years, the tax system in the Philippines continues to suffer from chronic weaknesses. The Duterte administration is pursuing a simpler, more efficient, and more equitable tax system to support its economic growth strategy. The administration's...

Proposals to reform the personal income tax have gained prominence in recent months. To date, personal income tax reform is part and parcel of the platform of a number of the candidates in the 2016 presidential elections. This paper aims to evaluate the various proposals in both houses of...

The adoption of the value-added tax the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012 led to price increases that are thought to adversely affect the welfare of most Congolese households. To date, research has not yet examined the poverty and distributional impacts of this tax reform. Using data from the...

In West Africa, the Value Added Tax (VAT) policy consists of a uniform tax rate, but several items consumed by rich and poor households, are exempted. We provide an optimal tax framework to reflect on the welfare effects of such a tariff structure, in the context of current debates on domestic...