Category: Tax as a development issue

BEPS Part 2: international politics and developing countries

I wrote earlier this week with some questions about UK tax policy and the OECD’s Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. A lot of the areas that it’s looking at are probably not going to affect smaller developing countries very much, but there are a few things worth highlighting. I also recommend Chris… Continue reading BEPS Part 2: international politics and developing countries

A sad resignation in South Africa

I’ve been mostly away from blogging for a few weeks, and this week I hope to catch up on the things I missed. I gather that the OECD may have published some kind of report…but that is for another day. I was sad to read a couple of weeks ago that the Commissioner of the… Continue reading A sad resignation in South Africa

Tax incentives cost $138 billion…?

Congratulations to ActionAid on the launch of its new Tax Power campaign – an impressively internationalised version of the work ActionAid UK has been doing for five years now. I love the gallery of #taxpaysfor photos. As part of the campaign launch, ActionAid asked me to help them come up with an estimate for the… Continue reading Tax incentives cost $138 billion…?

Nicaragua’s new canal: the world’s biggest tax exemption?

I’ve been reading about the proposed new transoceanic canal in Nicaragua, plans for which were passed by the country’s parliament last week. The Reuters story on it notes that the $40bn cost would be four times Nicaragua’s national income. According to the Guardian, once running, the canal would double Nicaragua’s GDP and triple employment. So… Continue reading Nicaragua’s new canal: the world’s biggest tax exemption?

Treating tax incentives like illegitimate debt

I’m at the United Nations tax committee, which yesterday hosted a day’s discussion on taxing the mining, oil and gas sectors. Quite a bit of the discussion dwelt on the stability clauses that are often built into contracts between the governments of developing countries and extractive industry companies making investments. In general these clauses insulate… Continue reading Treating tax incentives like illegitimate debt

“Tax, Law and Development”: recommended reading for campaigners

This spring, two academic books have come out that offer an opportunity to look at tax and development from different perspectives. “Critical Issues in Taxation and Development” edited by Clemens Fuest and George Zodrow is going to be the economists’ take, using “modern empirical methods” to answer a lot of “what is the effect of… Continue reading “Tax, Law and Development”: recommended reading for campaigners