Role of Direct Tax in Development Economy

Preface

The Economic Issues series aims to make available to a broad readership of nonspecialists some of the economic research being produced on topical issues by IMF staff. The series draws mainly from IMF Working Papers, which are technical papers produced by IMF staff members and visiting scholars, as well as from policy-related research papers.

This Economic Issue is based on IMF Working Paper 00/35 "Tax Policy for Emerging Markets," by Vito Tanzi and Howell Zee. Citations for the research referred to in this shortened version are provided in the original paper which readers can purchase (at $10.00 a copy) from the IMF Publication Services or download from www.imf.org. David Driscoll prepared the text for this pamphlet.

Tax Policy for Developing Countries

Why do we have taxes? The simple answer is that, until someone comes up with a better idea, taxation is the only practical means of raising the revenue to finance government spending on the goods and services that most of us demand. Setting up an efficient and fair tax system is, however, far from simple, particularly for developing countries that want to become integrated in the international economy. The ideal tax system in these countries should raise essential revenue without excessive government borrowing, and should do so without discouraging economic activity and without deviating too much from tax systems in other countries.

Developing countries face formidable challenges when they attempt to establish efficient tax systems. First, most workers in these countries are typically employed in agriculture or in small, informal enterprises. As they are seldom paid a regular, fixed wage, their earnings fluctuate, and many are paid in cash, "off the books." The base for an income tax is therefore hard to calculate. Nor do workers in these countries typically spend their earnings in large stores that keep accurate records of sales and inventories. As a result, modern means of raising revenue, such as...