An (in)effective tax and expenditure limit (TEL): Why county governments do not utilize their maximum allotted property tax rate

Tax and expenditure limits (TELs) are restrictions placed on governments limiting their ability to collect and spend revenue. Residents support these TELs, as they desire lower tax burdens and more government efficiency; yet, residents still desire the same level of public services. Property tax rate limits, a specific type of TEL, are placed upon local governments to limit their ability to collect revenue and expand authority. Rate limits were implemented on the assumption that governments would tax at their highest maximum possible rate, but this is not always the case. This article studies why some local governments choose not to utilize their maximum allotted property tax rate. Using an open systems governance approach, a panel data analysis was conducted using data from 67 Florida counties from 2008 to 2017. Results of the analysis show that the use of special districts and the age of the residential population have significant effects on property tax rate decisions.     

Administrative practices of the Aztecs,Incas, and Mayas: lessons for modern development administration ∗

Some of the policies and practices of the ancient civilizations of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas are reviewed in this paper. Although the author finds them inadequate as a model for development in the modern world, he suggests that some of the developing countries could learn form the rational administrative systems of these ancient civilizations. Five characteristics of countries that are experimenting a process of development administration are reviewed in the context of these ancient civilizations. These characteristics are: (a) Unorganized and inefficient bureaucracy; (b) Inadequate and unfair tax collection system; (c) Nugatory agricultural practices; (d) A warped judicial order: (e) A poor educational system.     

Managing revenue collection outsourcing in Tanzania’s local government authorities: a case study of Iringa Municipal Council

Due to their critical role in development and governance, local governments need adequate financial resources to deliver the many developmental functions. However, such financial resources are either not available or inadequate. One way of rising to this challenge has been scaling up revenue collection from local revenue sources. This is done through either in-house collection or outsourcing revenue collection. Extant research has focused on the benefits and challenges of outsourcing. This paper expands this body of knowledge by studying how local governments manage private collectors to maximise benefits of outsourcing. From interviews conducted with Iringa Municipality officials and staff, the paper shows that revenue collection outsourcing can be an effective tax administration strategy if properly managed.     

What Factors Influence the Intentions of Individuals to Engage in Tax Evasion? Evidence from Ghana

ABSTRACT

This study examines the views of students on the ethics of tax evasion, their intentions to evade tax, and investigates the factors that predict such intentions. Relying on the extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the study investigated whether attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and moral obligation may be good predictors of the intention to evade tax. Data were gathered from 662 students of University of Ghana Business School using questionnaires. The hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling technique. Results indicate that the intention to evade tax among the students is low and most respondents generally perceive tax evasion as an unethical practice. The results also demonstrate that attitude, subjective norms and moral obligations have important implications on the intention to evade tax. The evidence we provide should be useful to governments and tax agencies interested in promoting responsible tax compliance behaviour among individual taxpayers.     

国际税收制度改革新进程及其影响

针对数字经济税基侵蚀和利润转移的国际税收制度改革于2013年被正式提上议程,并逐渐形成了以双支柱为核心的税改方案。2021年10月,改革取得突破性进展,正式获得大多数改革参与国同意,计划于2023年开始在全球范围内实施。国际税收制度改革未来将对全球税收治理、全球贫富差距、数字经济发展、资本流动和避税型离岸中心等产生持续影响,也将给中国完善税收体制、发挥大国优势、吸引中资跨国数字企业回归、推动自由贸易试验区改革与创新等带来机遇。但国际税收制度改革同时会收紧中资跨国企业的海外投资环境,对香港金融稳定也会造成影响。中国应以本轮国际税收制度改革为契机积极参与,并完善税收征管机制,加快市场化建设和金融开放进程,在自贸区对标高水平国际创新,以及提升香港内生增长动力和稳定性。     

Tax Collection in Developing Countries – New Evidence on Semi-Autonomous Revenue Agencies (SARAs)

Abstract

Over the last two decades, semi-autonomous revenue agencies (SARAs) have become a key element of public administration reform. They are supposed to improve revenue mobilisation and stabilise state–taxpayer relations. But do SARAs really outperform conventional tax administrations? This article argues that they do. Presenting the results of a panel analysis of local tax collection in Peru between 1998 and 2011, it shows that municipalities with SARAs collect more revenue than those with conventional tax administrations. The results also indicate that local revenue is more stable in municipalities with SARAs, which is good for budget policy and planning.     

Comprehensive Performance Assessment and Public Services Improvement in England? A Case Study of the Benefits Administration Service in Local Government

The purpose of this paper is to independently evaluate the impact of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment regime on one particular public service, namely the provision of council tax and housing benefits distributed by local authorities throughout the course of the regime. This service was assessed in every iteration of the CPA methodologies and it included one of the few key performance indicators (KPIs) where the definition of the performance indicator, the means of collection and the public reporting of its results, remained the same throughout the CPA period between 2002 and 2008.

The findings show that there were considerable and consistent improvements in benefits administration nationally within England and across all of its regions. The paper then investigates a series of propositions. Whether there was any significant variations in the performance of larger as opposed to smaller authorities, or between predominantly rural authority areas and urban authorities or between authorities with different party political control. Finding no significant differences the research suggests implementation of the CPA regime itself appears to have had a catalytic effect upon the performance of the benefit administration services within local authorities throughout this period. The paper therefore concludes with a brief discussion as to whether the findings support the theoretical position of proponents of neo-institutionalism isomorphism or more traditional rational actor theories of public choice.     

Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Silver Bullet or White Elephant

A major component of tax administration reform in sub-Saharan Africa for the last 30 years has been the creation of semi-autonomous revenue authorities (SARAs). The effects of their creation on revenue performance have been much debated, although there are only a few quantitative studies. The core argument of this paper is that existing research suggesting diverse and contradictory outcomes has not taken account of trends in revenue performance in the years before the establishment of SARAs. Allowing for this revenue history our analysis, based on 46 countries over the period 1980–2015, provides no robust evidence that SARAs induce an increase in revenue performance. This does not imply that SARAs may not provide benefits for tax collection, but they do not demonstrably increase (or decrease) revenue collected.     

Managing Local Intergovernmental Revenues: The Imperative of Diversification

Abstract

Municipal governments have employed a variety of strategies to address their ongoing revenue crises throughout the past several decades. One such strategy that has been employed with great consistency is the use of intergovernmental revenues (IGR). Given this trend, coupled with the fact that we know little about the dynamics of IGR, this paper presents one of the first multi‐year examinations of its use at the local level. Using data from 76 villages and cities in Cook County, IL (greater Chicago) for 1996–2000, we examine IGR use from the perspective of revenue diversification. The analysis indicates that during this period, local governments in Cook County (1) diversified their own‐source revenues and decreased dependence on the property tax; (2) maintained a consistent dependence on IGR; and (3) diversified and significantly altered their IGR structures. We also examine the demographic and organizational correlates of IGR diversification, and find it to be unrelated to characteristics such as population, property tax base, professional administration, and organizational capacity. As a result, we conclude that IGR diversification is a strategy that ought to be considered by all municipalities regardless of size or structure.     

Assessing Revenue Authority Performance in Developing Countries: A Synthetic Control Approach

In many developing countries, comprehensive reforms have been undertaken in tax administration during recent years and the implementation of semiautonomous revenue authorities (SARAs) constitutes one of their most visible expressions. To date, no comprehensive assessment has been undertaken to investigate how successful these SARAs have been in improving revenue collection in these countries. Therefore, this article attempts to fill this gap by assessing revenue collection trends in 20 developing countries after the SARA has been implemented. Using the synthetic control method, we show that in most countries, the implementation of a SARA did not significantly improve government revenues.     

How Can African Governments Reach Poor Farmers with Fertiliser Subsidies? Exploring a Targeting Approach in Ghana

African governments have been pursuing reforms to improve the targeting of fertiliser subsidy programmes, but recent experience suggests that these reforms have not ensured that subsidies reach intended beneficiaries. Using a targeting approach based on proxy means tests with carefully selected indicators, this paper suggests that Ghana’s fertiliser subsidy programmes can be targeted to the country’s poor and smallholder farmers more efficiently and more cost-effectively. While a universal subsidy in 2012 is estimated to have reached 11 per cent of poor farmers, the proposed targeting approach would have reached 70 per cent of the poor farmers in northern Ghana and 50 per cent of poor farmers in southern Ghana. Targeting reduces the costs of leakages by about 72 per cent, thus justifying the costs of administering targeted programmes using the poverty proxies. Furthermore, we show that once the initial models are constructed, the targeting approach can be used for nearly 20 years without any significant losses in accuracy. We propose that policy-makers should consider implementing this targeting approach on a pilot scale involving a few communities and, if found successful in practice, in a larger-scale programme.     

The decisive impact of tax administration practices on firms’ corruption Experience and Perceptions: Evidence from Europe and Central Asia

Two competing conceptualizations of corruption in the literature view it either as efficient or burdensome from firms’ perspective. Using data on the prevalence and the nature of firms’ interactions with tax authorities in twenty-eight Eastern European and Central Asian (ECA) countries, this paper contributes to evaluation of competing ideas in the literature about firms’ experience of corruption in tax administration. Special emphasis is given to examination of taxation-related determinants of corruption prevalence (frequency and magnitude of bribery), as well as the effect of the interaction with tax authorities on perception of tax and overall corruption. Regardless of country context, it appears that perceived corruption in tax administration and actual experiences with bribery during interactions with tax officials more than anything else affect the overall perceptions of corruption, thereby supporting the conceptualization of corruption in tax administration as burdensome, rather than efficient.     

Factors Influencing SME Tax Compliance: Evidence from Indonesia

This study examines factors influencing the tax compliance of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for income-tax reporting requirements in Indonesia. Using multiple regressions, six tax compliance factors are examined. Data were collected through a survey conducted in Jakarta using 328 respondents who are small business taxpayers. A researcher–administered questionnaire survey method was used for data collection. The results reveal that referral groups, the probability of audit, tax knowledge, and the perception of equity and fairness have a significant impact on tax compliance. In particular, the referral group had the most significant influence on the noncompliance behavior of SME taxpayers. These findings can enable policymakers to develop future tax policies that focus on tax compliance. This study also contributes to the literature by including observations from Asian countries.     

How Neopatrimonialism Affects Tax Administration: a comparative study of three world regions

Neopatrimonialism is a concept that has predominately been applied to describe governance in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, however, it has also been used to describe governance in states from other world regions. However, scholars have rarely attempted systematically to compare neopatrimonial rule in different regional settings. This paper aims to narrow this gap by examining the effect of neopatrimonialism on the tax administration as a core state function in six countries from three different world regions: Argentina, Venezuela, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya and Zambia. We conclude that neopatrimonialism is a valuable concept for comparative area studies with the potential to foster dialogue on the ‘state in operation’ across the regional divide. Nevertheless, several indicators are more valid for some world regions than for others. We find that there is no systematic relationship between neopatrimonial trajectories and the strength of tax administration. Individual actor decisions influence the outcomes of neopatrimonialism substantially.     

The effect of green taxes and carbon tax shifting on the state of Minnesota

Although it is well established that taxes have a distortionary and negative effect on the economy, not all taxes are equally deleterious. This study examines the effect of a revenue neutral tax on Carbon Emissions, using the Energy 2020 and REMI models. The revenue raised by the carbon tax is off-set by corresponding reductions in other taxes (property and payroll taxes). The results indicate that the carbon emissions tax may or may not be as negative to economic growth as the taxes that they replace were. Therefore, it is possible to tax pollution, and only minorly slow or even stimulate the economy     

Women's Participation and Representation in Politics: Perspectives from Ghana

This article discusses empirical findings on issues affecting women's effective participation in politics and the public sector of Ghana. It argues that women's involvement in public life and politics has steadily declined contrary to hopeful reportage that global empowerment campaigns have increased women's political participation across Africa. The article suggests that given the deep-rooted socio-cultural hindrances women face, affirmative action policies need to be revisited to complement women's agency in contesting for, winning, and participating in politics and public service more effectively.     

The Imbalance between Public Expectations and Resource Provision in Developing Countries: Can Inter-Assemblies Cooperation Reduce the Gap?

ABSTRACT

Local authorities have long sought for solutions to the numerous service delivery challenges arising out of increasing demands from the general public coupled with budgetary constraints. One such solution is inter-organisational cooperation which has been found as an alternative cost-effective way of providing services to the general public. Drawing on resource-dependency theory, this paper explores the possibilities and challenges of cooperation among Assemblies in Ghana by adopting a qualitative approach. The findings reveal that inter-district cooperation is still at its development stages in Ghana despite the respondents’ recognition that it has the potential to address most of the problems faced by District Assemblies in Ghana.     

Informing Grassroots Development: The 1994–1995 Peacebuilding Experience in Northern Ghana

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focused on poverty alleviation play a central role in responding to conflict situations and initiating peacebuilding activities. Following the 1994–1995 conflict in Northern Ghana, development NGOs coordinated a largely effective grassroots peacebuilding effort. However, insights gained from peacebuilding activities have not informed ongoing development efforts, which continue to propose ‘top-down’ strategies. By examining the strengths and limitations of the peace process in Ghana, this article suggests development NGOs apply the grassroots strategies they used for peacebuilding to their ongoing development activities. This analysis is based on data drawn from archival research as well as field interviews with 21 representatives of the state and NGOs, and community and religious leaders.     

Does Conditionality Mitigate the Potential Negative Effect of Aid on Revenues?

Abstract

This paper assesses whether conditionality in IMF-supported programmes has helped offset the potential negative effect of foreign aid on tax revenues. The analysis – carried out on panel data covering 1993-2012 for 111 low- and middle-income countries – shows that growing use of revenue conditionality by low-income countries partially offsets the depressing effect of foreign grants on tax revenue, particularly on taxes on goods and services. The impact of conditionality is strong in countries where aid dependence is high and where institutions are strong, suggesting that revenue conditionality cannot substitute for weak institutions in mitigating any negative effect of aid on tax revenue collection.     

Implementation Challenges of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Selected Districts in Ghana: Evidence from the Field

Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme, introduced in 2003, aims to remove financial barriers to health-care access and bridge the inequality gaps in health care. This paper reports on a study of the implementation process in four local government areas in southern and northern Ghana. The paper profiles key institutional actors and draws on qualitative interview data from 33 in-depth interviews. Findings highlight the gaps and challenges that have emerged in the implementation process. Issues of managerial capacity, inadequate and uneven distribution of medical facilities and health-care professionals, cost escalation, fraud and abuse, and reimbursement of providers threaten the sustainability of the scheme.