Suchergebnisse

A key objective of many governments is to improve tax revenue mobilization. One way to achieve this is by improving tax compliance. This requires accurate knowledge of the tax gap, i.e. the difference between what should be paid and what is actually paid. Until now, tax gaps have been primarily estimated in developed countries, and very little is known about tax gaps in developing countries. Information about these gaps can help policy makers make appropriate revenue mobilization strategies. This paper uses a top-down approach to estimate the tax gap in corporate income tax in South Africa. It uses national accounts statistics and tax administrative data to estimate the gap in the non-financial corporate sector, i.e. the difference between potential and actual corporate income tax under current tax legislation. The overall gap is estimated at approximately 11 per cent of the potential tax base or 2 per cent of GDP over the period 2015 to 2017.

Abstract
The paper focuses on two crucial issues that hinder the fiscal sovereignty of developing countries: the reduced level of international tax cooperation, and the lack of appropriate procedures for sovereign debt crisis resolution. The low level of international tax cooperation enables a "race to the bottom" in tax rates among countries, tax avoidance through profit-shifting activities by companies and tax evasion by individuals and companies, based on the existence of non-cooperative jurisdictions. In the last 5 years, the international community has made some improvements in this field, but the situation remains far from satisfactory. On the other hand, the current procedure for sovereign debt resolution, through negotiations at the Paris Club with the support of the IMF, is not only unfair, but also inefficient. The paper explores alternatives in both fields. Appropriate responses to these international problems would have to show benefits in terms of efficiency and welfare at the global level, and establish fundamentals for countries to take full advantage of their resources, which is a necessary condition for funding policies that will not leave (or push) any nation or social sector behind.