[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/aah/aarhec/2005-21.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Tax-tariff reform with costs of tax administration

Author

Listed:
  • Knud Jørgen Munk

    (Department of Economics, University of Aarhus, Denmark)

Abstract
As is broadly recognized, the straightforward application of the Diamond-Mirrlees (1971) production efficiency theorem implies that when lump-sum taxation is not available, then it is optimal for the government in a small open economy to rely on taxes on the net demand of households rather than on border taxes to finance its resource requirements. However, the theorem does not hold when taxation is associated with administrative costs. The present paper explores the implications for optimal taxation and for desirable directions of tax-tariff reform in countries at different levels of economic development taking into account the costs of tax administration. The paper lends support to and clarifies the reasons for the criticism by Emran and Stiglitz (2003, 2005) of the IMF and the World Bank's recommendation to developing countries to adopt VAT to replace border taxes.

Suggested Citation

  • Knud Jørgen Munk, 2005. "Tax-tariff reform with costs of tax administration," Economics Working Papers 2005-21, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    • Handle: RePEc:aah:aarhec:2005-21
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.econ.au.dk/repec/afn/wp/05/wp05_21.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. W. J. Corlett & D. C. Hague, 1953. "Complementarity and the Excess Burden of Taxation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 21(1), pages 21-30.
    2. J. E. Stiglitz & P. Dasgupta, 1971. "Differential Taxation, Public Goods, and Economic Efficiency," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 38(2), pages 151-174.
    3. Emran, M. Shahe & Stiglitz, Joseph E., 2005. "On selective indirect tax reform in developing countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(4), pages 599-623, April.
    4. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1994. "Protection for Sale," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 833-850, September.
    5. James E. Anderson, 2002. "Trade Reform Diagnostics with Many Households, Quotas, and Tariffs," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 215-236, May.
    6. Dixit, A. K. & Munk, K. J., 1977. "Welfare effects of tax and price changes : A correction," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 103-107, August.
    7. W. E. Diewert & A. H. Turunen-Red & A. D. Woodland, 1989. "Productivity- and Pareto-Improving Changes in Taxes and Tariffs," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 56(2), pages 199-215.
    8. Tatsuo Hatta & Yoshitomo Ogawa, 2007. "Optimal Tariffs under a Revenue Constraint," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 560-573, August.
    9. John Piggott & Alan Woodland (ed.), 1999. "International Trade Policy and the Pacific Rim," International Economic Association Series, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-14543-0, December.
    10. Keen, Michael & Ligthart, Jenny E., 2002. "Coordinating tariff reduction and domestic tax reform," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 489-507, March.
    11. Hristos Doucouliagos & Martin Paldam, 2009. "The Aid Effectiveness Literature: The Sad Results Of 40 Years Of Research," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 433-461, July.
    12. M. Shahe Emran & Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2004. "Price-neutral Tax Reform With an Informal Economy," Public Economics 0407010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Heady, Christopher J. & Mitra, Pradeep K., 1987. "Distributional and revenue raising arguments for tariffs," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 77-101, June.
    14. Allingham, Michael G. & Sandmo, Agnar, 1972. "Income tax evasion: a theoretical analysis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(3-4), pages 323-338, November.
    15. Hatta, Tatsuo, 1977. "A Recommendation for a Better Tariff Structure," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(8), pages 1859-1869, November.
    16. Hristos Doucouliagos & Martin Paldam, 2005. "Aid Effectiveness on Growth. A Meta Study," Economics Working Papers 2005-13, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    17. Hristos Doucouliagos & Martin Paldam, 2006. "Aid Effectiveness on Accumulation: A Meta Study," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 227-254, May.
    18. Gordon, Roger & Li, Wei, 2009. "Tax structures in developing countries: Many puzzles and a possible explanation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(7-8), pages 855-866, August.
    19. James Andreoni & Brian Erard & Jonathan Feinstein, 1998. "Tax Compliance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 818-860, June.
    20. Dasgupta, Partha S & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1974. "Benefit-Cost Analysis and Trade Policies," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(1), pages 1-33, Jan.-Feb..
    21. Roger Gordon & Wei Li, 2007. "Puzzling Tax Structures in Devloping Countries: A Comparison of Two Alternative Explanations," NBER Chapters, in: Fiscal Policy and Management in East Asia, pages 9-35, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Heady, Christopher J. & Mitra, Pradeep K., 1982. "Restricted redistributive taxation, shadow prices and trade policy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-22, February.
    23. repec:bla:econom:v:59:y:1992:i:233:p:75-92 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Knud Jørgen Munk, "undated". "What Determines the Optimal Commodity Tax Structure from an Intuitive Point of View?," EPRU Working Paper Series 02-17, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    25. Diamond, Peter A & Mirrlees, James A, 1971. "Optimal Taxation and Public Production II: Tax Rules," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(3), pages 261-278, June.
    26. Richard M. Bird, 2005. "Value-Added Taxes in Developing and Transitional Countries: Lessons and Questions (2005)," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0505, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    27. Baunsgaard, Thomas & Keen, Michael, 2010. "Tax revenue and (or?) trade liberalization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(9-10), pages 563-577, October.
    28. J. A. Mirrlees, 1972. "On Producer Taxation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 39(1), pages 105-111.
    29. Knud Jørgen Munk, 1980. "Optimal Taxation with some Non-Taxable Commodities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(4), pages 755-765.
    30. Diamond, Peter A & Mirrlees, James A, 1971. "Optimal Taxation and Public Production: I--Production Efficiency," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 8-27, March.
    31. repec:bla:reviec:v:10:y:2002:i:2:p:215-36 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Dominik H. Enste & Friedrich Schneider, 2000. "Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 77-114, March.
    33. Tatsuo Hatta & Yoshitomo Ogawa, 2003. "A Theory of Optimal Tariffs under a Revenue Constraint," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-202, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    34. Myles,Gareth D., 1995. "Public Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521497695, September.
    35. Knud Jørgen Munk & Bo Sandemann Rasmussen, 2005. "On the Determinants of Optimal Border Taxes for a Small Open Economy," Economics Working Papers 2005-22, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    36. Dixit, Avinash, 1985. "Tax policy in open economies," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 6, pages 313-374, Elsevier.
    37. Knud Jørgen Munk, 2006. "Welfare Effects of Tax and Price Changes and the CES-UT Utility Function," Economics Working Papers 2006-15, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    38. Knud Jørgen Munk, 2006. "On the Rationale for the Use of Border Taxes in Developing Countries," Economics Working Papers 2006-12, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    39. Hertel, Thomas, 1997. "Global Trade Analysis: Modeling and applications," GTAP Books, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, number 7685, December.
    40. Jean-Jacques Laffont, 2004. "Management of Public Utilities in China," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 5(2), pages 185-210, November.
    41. Diamond, P. A. & McFadden, D. L., 1974. "Some uses of the expenditure function in public finance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 3-21, February.
    42. Knud Jørgen Munk, "undated". "Should Governments Create Production Inefficiency?," EPRU Working Paper Series 98-20, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robin Boadway & Motohiro Sato, 2009. "Optimal Tax Design and Enforcement with an Informal Sector," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 1-27, February.
    2. Manoj Atolia, 2010. "Public Investment, Tax Evasion, And The Welfare Effects Of A Tariff Reform," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 28(2), pages 219-239, April.
    3. Ligthart, J.E. & van der Meijden, G.C., 2010. "Coordinated Tax-Tariff Reforms, Informality, and Welfare Distribution," Other publications TiSEM 59182d96-7d65-4259-b74c-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Paz, Lourenço S., 2014. "The impacts of trade liberalization on informal labor markets: A theoretical and empirical evaluation of the Brazilian case," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 330-348.
    5. Michael Keen, 2007. "VAT attacks!," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 14(4), pages 365-381, August.
    6. Květa Kubátová, 2009. "Optimal Taxation - Review of Theory [Optimální zdanění - přehled dosavadní teorie]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2009(3), pages 24-36.
    7. Paz, Lourenco, 2012. "The effect of trade liberalization on payroll tax evasion and labor informality," MPRA Paper 39545, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Céline de Quatrebarbes & Bertrand Laporte & Stéphane Calipel, 2021. "Fighting the soaring prices of agricultural food products -VAT versus Trade tariffs exemptions. A case study in Niger," Working Papers hal-03164636, HAL.
    9. Eichfelder, Sebastian & Schorn, Michael, 2009. "Tax compliance costs: a business administration perspective," Discussion Papers 2009/3, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    10. Dorothée Boccanfuso & Celine de Quatrebarbes & Luc Savard, 2011. "Can the removal of VAT Exemptions support the Poor? The Case of Niger," CERDI Working papers halshs-00577148, HAL.
    11. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Violeta Vulovic & Yongzheng Liu, 2011. "Direct versus Indirect Taxation: Trends, Theory, and Economic Significance," Chapters, in: Emilio Albi & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), The Elgar Guide to Tax Systems, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Knud MUNK, 2008. "On the Use of Border Taxes in Developing Countries," EcoMod2008 23800093, EcoMod.
    13. Keen, Michael, 2008. "VAT, tariffs, and withholding: Border taxes and informality in developing countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(10-11), pages 1892-1906, October.
    14. Celine de Quatrebarbes & Bertrand Laporte & Stéphane Calipel, 2021. "Fighting the soaring prices of agricultural food products. VAT versus Trade tariffs exemptions in a context of imperfect competition in Niger : CGE and micro-simulation approach," CERDI Working papers hal-03138369, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gotor, Elisabetta & Tsigas, Marinos E., 2006. "Effects of EU Sugar Trade Reforms on Poor Households in Africa: A General Equilibrium Analysis," Conference papers 331506, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    2. Emran, M. Shahe & Stiglitz, Joseph E., 2005. "On selective indirect tax reform in developing countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(4), pages 599-623, April.
    3. Yoshitomo Ogawa & Nobuhiro Hosoe, 2020. "Optimal indirect tax design in an open economy," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(5), pages 1081-1107, October.
    4. Michael Carlos Best & Anne Brockmeyer & Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Johannes Spinnewijn & Mazhar Waseem, 2015. "Production versus Revenue Efficiency with Limited Tax Capacity: Theory and Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(6), pages 1311-1355.
    5. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4icc4hr7684k8f6u7csmfuve2 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/4icc4hr7684k8f6u7csmfuve2 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Julia Cage & Lucie Gadenne, 2014. "Tax Revenues, Development, and the Fiscal Cost of Trade Liberalization, 1792-2006," Working Papers hal-03460586, HAL.
    8. Haibara Takumi, 2017. "Indirect Tax Reform in Developing Countries: A Consumption-Neutral Approach," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, June.
    9. Anderson, James E. & Neary, J. Peter, 2016. "Sufficient statistics for tariff reform when revenue matters," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 150-159.
    10. Keen, Michael, 2008. "VAT, tariffs, and withholding: Border taxes and informality in developing countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(10-11), pages 1892-1906, October.
    11. Kleven, Henrik & Best, Michael & Spinnewijn, Johannes & Waseem, Mazhar & Brockmeyer, Anne, 2013. "Production vs Revenue Efficiency With Limited Tax Capacity: Theory and Evidence From Pakistan," CEPR Discussion Papers 9717, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Gordon, Roger & Li, Wei, 2009. "Tax structures in developing countries: Many puzzles and a possible explanation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(7-8), pages 855-866, August.
    13. Knud Jørgen Munk & Bo Sandemann Rasmussen, 2005. "On the Determinants of Optimal Border Taxes for a Small Open Economy," Economics Working Papers 2005-22, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    14. Yoshitomo Ogawa & Nobuhiro Hosoe, 2018. "Optimal Indirect Tax Design for a Developing Country," GRIPS Discussion Papers 18-06, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    15. Gordon Roger H., 2010. "Public Finance and Economic Development: Reflections based on Experience in China," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-29, January.
    16. Peter Neary & James E. Anderson, 2013. "Revenue Tariff Reform," Economics Series Working Papers 688, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    17. Emran, M. Shahe, 2005. "Revenue-increasing and welfare-enhancing reform of taxes on exports," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 277-292, June.
    18. Catalina Tejada & Eliana Ferrara & Henrik Kleven & Florian Blum & Oriana Bandiera & Michel Azulai, 2015. "State Effectiveness, Growth, and Development," Working Papers id:6668, eSocialSciences.
    19. Jenny Ligthart & Gerard C. van der Meijden, 2010. "Coordinated Tax-Tariff Reforms, Informality, and Welfare Distribution," CESifo Working Paper Series 3107, CESifo.
    20. MUNK Knud, 2010. "Administrative Costs and Optimal Diversions from Free Trade in a Small Open Economy," EcoMod2003 330700108, EcoMod.
    21. Knud MUNK, 2008. "On the Use of Border Taxes in Developing Countries," EcoMod2008 23800093, EcoMod.
    22. Giovanni Ganelli & Juha Tervala, 2015. "Tariff-tax Reforms in Large Economies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(12), pages 1990-2012, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Optimal taxation; optimal trade policy; VAT; tax-tariff reform; costs of tax administration; informal sector; developing countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F11 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Neoclassical Models of Trade
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aah:aarhec:2005-21. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.econ.au.dk/afn/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.