Business and Economics > Corporate Taxation

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International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Selected Issues paper presents the main features and weaknesses of the current Panamanian tax system and provides an international comparison of its performance. Panama’s macroeconomic performance has been notably robust. Panama’s macroeconomic performance has been notably robust, but Panama’s tax collection has been historically low. A tax system without adequate revenues led to chronic fiscal deficits and a lack of resources to invest in human capital (education and health) and promote social inclusion policies. In addition, the tax system is notably regressive, and several rules are very inefficient and distortive contradicting the overall policy objective of the country to attract investment. Taxation of the business sector is very complex. On the other hand, the system is very generous regarding benefits. Overall, the desirable reform direction is clear: A reduction in tax incentives, following their analysis, as well as stronger anti-abuse provisions, and revenues from an international minimum tax can finance reductions in the inefficient parts of the tax system, such as the multiple business taxes and the strict loss carry forward.
International Monetary Fund
This paper assesses the evolution of Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) real exchange rates over time, and examines whether the region has lost competitiveness. The main finding is that there is little evidence of overvaluation of the Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollar. The relationship summarized above permits the calculation of equilibrium current account balances or norms. The financing of ECCU current account imbalances appears stable. This paper also provides evidence on the distinctive impact that tourism plays in the determination of the real exchange rate in tourism-driven economies.
Koffie Ben Nassar
Motivated by the concern that corporate income tax (CIT) competition may have eroded the tax base, this paper calculates average effective tax rates to measure the impact of CIT competition, including the widespread use of tax holidays, on the tax base for 15 countries in the Caribbean. The results not only confirm erosion of the tax base, but also show that CIT holidays must be removed for recent tax policy initiatives (such as accelerated depreciation, loss carry forward provisions, and tax harmonization) to be effective. These findings suggest that the authorities should either avoid granting CIT holidays or rely more on other taxes (including consumption taxes such as the value-added tax) in order to broaden the tax base.
Ms. Janet Gale Stotsky
and
Ms. Asegedech WoldeMariam
Central American tax systems are modern in their orientation, though there remains scope for beneficial reform. Value-added taxes are the mainstay of collections, but their performance varies. Income and property taxes remain relatively underused and should apply to higher income taxpayers more comprehensively. Tax reform needs to be mindful of global competition. Continuing improvement in administrative performance is also essential.
Mr. Parthasarathi Shome
Tax reform in Latin America during the 1980s emphasized broad-based, low-rate consumption taxes over steeply progressive income and property taxes, primarily to simplify the tax structure and facilitate tax administration. While tax reform need not necessarily raise tax-to-GDP ratios, countries that undertook tax reform experienced a higher revenue gain in terms of GDP relative to those that did not. Tax reform issues during the 1990s will include a minimum income tax, alternative corporate taxes (cash flow tax, assets tax), capturing difficult tax bases (financial intermediation, property), environment taxes, extending withholding as a taxing mechanism, and tax harmonization.