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Business and Economics > Corporate Taxation

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Cover IMF How To Notes
How to Combat Value-Added Tax Refund Fraud
Cedric Andrew
and
Ms. Katherine Baer
A previous IMF Working Paper on value-added tax (VAT) refunds (WP/07/31, by Keen and Smith) describes the main forms of VAT noncompliance and concludes that VAT is susceptible to evasion and fraud like any other tax. This paper shows the insidious nature and extent of VAT refund fraud in selected EU countries and argues that this type of noncompliance requires tax administrations to adopt a coordinated strategy and deploy a range of countermeasures to combat this threat. Because such fraud is primarily a criminal legal issue, tackling it successfully will require cooperation, both internationally between VAT administrations and nationally between tax authorities and the judiciary. The paper’s focus is primarily on advanced economies in the context of the EU, but many of the recommendations are applicable to emerging market and developing countries. A separate IMF How to Note discusses managing VAT refunds in developing countries.
Keywords:
value-added tax; refund; fraud; strategies; cooperation; refund fraud; acquisition fraud scheme; return fraud; MTIC VAT Contra carousel scheme; Customs and Excise tax office case study; Tax refunds; Tax administration core functions; Middle East
Cover IMF How To Notes
How to Design a Presumptive Income Tax for Micro and Small Enterprises
Jean-François Wen
Turnover taxes are prevalent in developing countries as a simple form of presumptive taxation of business income. Such simplified tax regimes can reduce the relatively high compliance costs of micro and small enterprises, which might otherwise discourage entrepreneurs from formalizing their activities and paying taxes. The note addresses design issues for a turnover tax regime—which taxes it replaces, what the criteria are for eligibility, how to determine the optimal threshold, and how to set the tax rate. A key observation is that, although low turnover tax rates may incite larger firms to artificially reduce their sales, the rate should also not be so high as to discourage formalization of activities. A table of tax rates and turnover thresholds observed internationally is provided. The note concludes by suggesting analytical steps to guide practitioners in designing turnover tax regimes.
Keywords:
Presumptive tax; turnover tax; informal sector; microenterprises; taxpayer Compliance cost; turnover tax rate; turnover tax systems; IMF library; Sales tax; Income and capital gains taxes; Income tax systems; Corporate income tax; Effective tax rate; Africa; South America; Eastern Europe; West Africa; Western Europe
Cover IMF How To Notes
How to Design a Regional Tax Treaty and Tax Treaty Policy Framework in a Developing Country
Kiyoshi Nakayama
A well-designed regional tax treaty to which developing countries are signatories will include provisions securing minimum withholding taxes on investment income and technical service fees, a taxing right in respect of capital gains from indirect offshore transfers, and guarding against-treaty shopping. A tax treaty policy framework—national or regional—that specifies the main policy outcomes to be achieved before negotiations commence would enable developing countries with more limited expertise and lower capacity for tax treaty negotiations to avoid concluding problematic tax treaties. This note provides guidance for members of regional economic communities in the developing world on what should and should not be included in a regional tax treaty and how to design on a common tax treaty policy framework for use in negotiations of bilateral tax treaties with nonmembers.
Keywords:
value-added tax; corporate tax; regional tax; regional tax policy; regional tax treaty; developing countries; tax treaty; group treaty negotiations; tax treaty position; treaty negotiations; treaty shopping; Double taxation; Withholding tax; Payroll tax; Corporate income tax; Dividend tax; Caribbean; West Africa