Tax systems in transition

Mitra, Pradeep ; Stern, Nicholas

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: TAX SYSTEMS;    TAX REVENUES;    BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT;    FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS;    INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2947
RP-ID  :  WPS2947

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

How have tax systems, whose primary roleis to raise resources to finance public expenditures,evolved in the transition countries of Eastern Europe andthe former Soviet Union? The authors find that: (1) theratio of tax revenue-to-GDP decreased largely due to a fallin revenue from corporate income tax; (2) the fall inrevenue from the corporate income tax led to a decline inthe importance of income taxes, notwithstanding a rise inthe share of individual income tax; (3) social securitycontributions together with payroll taxes became lessimportant in the Commonwealth of Independent States; and (4)domestic indirect taxes gained in importance in overall taxrevenues. Apart from the increased role of personal incometaxation, these developments go in a direction opposite tothose observed in poor countries as they get richer. Theyshow a key aspect of transition, namely a movement from asystem where the government exercised a preeminent claim onoutput and income before citizens had access to theremainder, to one with a greatly diminished role for thepublic sector, as reflected in a lower ratio of publicexpenditure to GDP, where the government needs to collectrevenue in order to spend. Can expected levels of publicexpenditure be financed by the basic instruments of a moderntax system without creating significant distortions in theprivate sector? The authors suggest that transitioncountries, depending on their stage of development, shouldaim for a tax revenue-to-GDP ratio in the range of 22 to 31percent, comprising value-added tax (6 to 7 percent),excises (2 to 3 percent), income tax (6 to 9 percent),social security contribution together with payroll tax (6 to10 percent), and other taxes such as on trade and onproperty (2 percent). The authors' analysis also shedslight on the links between tax policy, tax administration,and the investment climate in transition countries.