The underutilization of existing capital stock is a disturbing phenomenon in developing countries. Faced with this situation, Pakistan introduced a new tax in 1966 that was called a capacity tax. By taxing capacity output instead of actual production, the Government believed that the resulting...

In the course of introducing a market-oriented tax system, most Central and Eastern European countries are actively considering the merits of a value-added tax. Social, economic, and technical issues pertinent to the introduction and operation of the VAT are examined, including the burden...

Excise taxes on smoking, drinking, gambling, polluting, and driving are always topical and controversial. Not only are these taxes convenient sources of government revenue, they can also be designed to reflect the external costs that consumers or producers of excisable products impose on other...

Following the introduction of the euro, the European Union has started to debate the desirability and feasibility of more co-ordination in the field of capital income taxation. In contrast with product taxes, the EU Treaty does not provide for explicit authority to harmonize income taxes. So...

Explains that by imposing a carbon excise on fossil fuels, the level of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere would be reduced significantly. Since the earth's atmosphere is a common property resource, international coordination in collecting and enforcing the levy at country level is required.

Sijbren Cnossen comments on "Issues in Integration of Federal and Provincial Sales Taxes: A Canadian Perspective." by Satya Poddar and "The (Apparent) Demise of Sales Tax Deductibility: Issues for Analysis and Policy." by David E. Wildasin.

In the spirit of the European Commission’s call for a simpler, more robust and efficient VAT system, this article proposes to integrate exempt insurance services into the European VAT, and to abolish the discriminatory, excise-type insurance premium taxes levied by the various Member States....

A modern Goods and Services Tax (GST) would do much to alleviate the problems of India’s current indirect tax system which is a serious impediment to the formation of a single common market and further economic growth. The Centre and the States should both have access to the full GST base,...

Tax systems have changed considerably in the past three decades. These fundamental changes have been the result of economic globalization, new political stances, and also of developments in public finance thought. The chapters in this volume offer a critical review of those changes from the...