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Business and Economics > Corporate Taxation

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Cover Tax Law Technical Note
Legislating for Fair and Effective Tax Collection
Irving Aw
,
Brendan Crowley
,
Cory Hillier
,
Lydia E Sofrona
, and
Christophe J Waerzeggers
Fair and effective tax collection is critical to the success of any tax system in raising revenue and should be properly legislated. Voluntary payment of taxes by taxpayers is always preferred and should be encouraged and supported by the tax procedure legal framework. However, the law should also provide for protective measures to prevent taxpayers from frustrating tax collection efforts by taking either themselves or their assets out of the tax administration’s reach. As a last resort, the tax administration should be able to compel the recovery of outstanding tax debts from taxpayers or certain third parties through different legislative measures. Such powers should however be complemented by adequate safeguards for taxpayers. This note focuses on the key issues that should be taken into consideration in designing tax law provisions to support fair and effective tax collection.
Keywords:
Tax Collection; Legislation; Protective Measures; Compelled Recovery; Tax Liens; Installment Arrangements; Crisis Events; clearance mechanism; penalties regime; tax procedure; tax law provision; clearance certificate; tax rulings regime; IT system; Tax administration core functions; Tax arrears management; Tax law; Collateral
Cover Staff Discussion Notes
Broadening the Gains from Generative AI: The Role of Fiscal Policies
Fernanda Brollo
,
Era Dabla-Norris
,
Ruud de Mooij
,
Daniel Garcia-Macia
,
Tibor Hanappi
,
Li Liu
, and
Anh D. M. Nguyen
Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) holds immense potential to boost productivity growth and advance public service delivery, but it also raises profound concerns about massive labor disruptions and rising inequality. This note discusses how fiscal policies can be employed to steer the technology and its deployment in ways that serve humanity best while cushioning the negative labor market and distributional effects to broaden the gains. Given the vast uncertainty about the nature, impact, and speed of developments in gen AI, governments should take an agile approach that prepares them for both business as usual and highly disruptive scenarios.
Keywords:
Artificial intelligence; AI; technological change; labor market; fiscal policy; social protection systems; tax systems; IMF Staff Discussion Note SDN2024/002; gen AI; advance public service delivery; role of fiscal policies; replacement ratio; job displacement; income support; tax treatment; market power; Labor markets; Corporate income tax; Automation; Capital income; Global
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
Corporate Income Tax Gap Estimation by using Bottom-Up Techniques in Selected Countries: Revenue Administration Gap Analysis Program
Patricio A Barra
,
Mr. Eric Hutton
, and
Polina Prokof'yeva
This technical note describes bottom-up CIT gap estimation techniques applied by revenue administrations in the following highly experienced countries in this approach: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main topics included in the descriptions are techniques applied, CIT gap results, advantages and disadvantages of different available options, and future developments and recommendations for any revenue administration interested in starting bottom-up CIT gap estimation programs having no prior experience.
Keywords:
Tax Administration; Tax Compliance; Corporate Income Tax; Tax Gap; Tax Evasion; Random Audit Program; Risk-Based Audits; bottom-up technique; CIT gap; gap definition; Ra-GAP team; members of the Revenue Administration Gap Analysis Program; Auditing; Revenue Administration Gap Analysis Program (RA-GAP); Small and medium enterprises
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
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
Estimating the Corporate Income Tax Gap: The RA-GAP Methodology
Mr. Junji Ueda
The IMF Fiscal Affairs Department's Revenue Administration Gap Analysis Program (RA-GAP) aims to provide a quantitative analysis of the tax gap between potential revenues and actual collections, and this technical note explains the concept of the tax gap for corporate income tax (CIT), and the methodology to estimate CIT gaps. It includes detailed steps to derive the potential CIT base and liability with careful consideration for the theoretical differences between the coverage of statistical macroeconomic data and the actual tax base of CIT, and then compare the estimated results with actual declarations and revenues. Although the estimated gaps following the approach will have margins of errors, it has the advantage of using available data without additional costs of collection and suits initial evaluations of overall CIT noncompliance in a country.
Keywords:
TNM; CIT gap; CIT efficiency ratio; CIT base; CIT liability; CIT legislation; Tax Gap; Tax Evasion; Tax Compliance; Corporate Income Tax; CIT Policy gap; CIT payment; CIT credit; CIT noncompliance; taxable income; CIT collection gap; Personal income; Business enterprises; Fiscal accounting and reporting
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
Fiscal Analysis of Resource Industries: (FARI Methodology)
Ms. Oana Luca
and
Diego Mesa Puyo
This manual introduces key concepts and methodology used by the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) in its fiscal analysis of resource industries (FARI) framework. Proper evaluation of fiscal regimes for extractive industries (EI) requires economic and financial analysis at the project level, and FARI is an analytical tool that allows such fiscal regime design and evaluation. The FARI framework has been primarily used in FAD’s advisory work on fiscal regime design: it supports calibration of fiscal parameters, sensitivity analysis, and international comparisons. In parallel to that, FARI has also evolved into a revenue forecasting tool, allowing IMF economists and government officials to estimate the composition and timing of expected revenue streams from the EI sector, analyze revenue management issues (including quantification of fiscal rules), and better integrate the EI sector in the country macroeconomic frameworks. Looking forward, the model presents a useful tool for revenue administration practitioners, allowing them to compare actual, realized revenues with model results in tax gap analysis.
Keywords:
TNM; income tax; discount rate; cash flows; capital expenditure; withholding tax; Mining taxation; petroleum taxation; fiscal regime design; profit petroleum; Project net cash flows; payback period; internal rate of return; cost of capital; Currencies; Oil; Corporate income tax; Discount rates; Fiscal Analysis of Resource Industries (FARI); Africa
Cover Staff Discussion Notes
Fair Taxation in the Middle East and North Africa
Mario Mansour
,
Ms. Pritha Mitra
,
Mr. Carlo A Sdralevich
, and
Mr. Andrew Jewell
Fairness – and what governments can do about it – is at the forefront of economic and social debate all over the world. In MENA, this has been at the core of recent political transitions but has not been adequately addressed. This SDN explores how tax systems – a critical interface between the state and citizens – can play a role in meeting demands for greater economic fairness in MENA countries. The SDN finds that for countries with well-established non-hydrocarbon tax systems (mostly oil importers) reforms should focus on simplifying tax structures and introducing more progressivity of personal income taxes, broadening tax bases, and better designing and enforcing property taxes. Tax administration should be more efficient and user-friendly while simplifying tax regimes will reduce the scope for arbitrary implementation. MENA countries with less established non-hydrocarbon revenue systems can begin with a “starter pack” that includes introduction of low-rate value-added and corporate income taxes, excises, and property taxes while building up administrative capacity and taxation expertise together with plans for introducing a personal income tax. Across the region, effective communication, transparency, and constructive dialogue between the State and citizens are critical to the success of reforms.
Keywords:
SDN; tax revenue; country; government; company; tax; VAT
Cover Staff Discussion Notes
Fiscalité équitable au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord
Mario Mansour
,
Ms. Pritha Mitra
,
Mr. Carlo A Sdralevich
, and
Mr. Andrew Jewell
La quête d'égalité et d'équité — et ce que peuvent faire les gouvernements pour la satisfaire — est au cœur du débat économique et social dans le monde entier. Dans la région du Moyen-Orient et de l'Afrique du Nord (MOAN), ce thème revêt une signification particulière, mais n'a pas été suffisamment traité. Cette note de réflexion étudie le rôle que peuvent jouer les régimes fiscaux, interfaces essentielles entre les États et leurs citoyens, pour répondre aux exigences de plus grande équité économique dans les pays de la région MOAN. Elle conclut que dans les pays qui ont des régimes fiscaux bien établis ne reposant pas sur les hydrocarbures (principalement des pays importateurs de pétrole), les réformes devraient viser en priorité à simplifier la structure de la fiscalité et à introduire une plus grande progressivité de l'impôt sur le revenu, à élargir la base d'imposition, et à améliorer la conception et l'application des taxes foncières. L'administration fiscale devrait être plus efficace et conviviale. La simplification des régimes fiscaux réduirait le risque de traitement arbitraire. Les pays de la région MOAN dont les recettes fiscales hors hydrocarbures sont moins développées pourraient commencer par introduire une TVA et un impôt sur le revenu des sociétés à faible taux, instaurer des taxes foncières et des droits d'accises, et renforcer leurs capacités administratives et leur expertise fiscale, tout en établissant des plans pour l'introduction d'un impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques. Dans toute la région, la réussite de ces réformes nécessitera d'assurer une communication efficace et transparente, et d'entretenir un dialogue constructif entre l'État et les citoyens.
Keywords:
SDN; tax revenue; country; government; company; tax; VAT