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Europe > Ireland

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 10 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Tax Evasion and Avoidance x
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Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
The Case for (and Against) Asset Management Companies in Banking Crises
Miguel A Otero Fernandez
,
Jaime Ponce
,
Marc C Dobler
, and
Tomoaki Hayashi
This technical note explores the advantages and disadvantages of establishing state-sponsored centralized asset management companies (AMCs) to address high levels of bank asset distress during financial crises. AMCs may offer potential benefits like mitigating downward price spirals or achieving efficiency gains by consolidating creditor claims and scarce expertise. However, significant risks and costs warrant careful consideration. These include extreme uncertainties in asset valuation and substantial operational and financial risks. Past international experiences highlight the dangers of underestimating these risks, potentially turning the AMC into a mechanism for deferring losses to taxpayers, rather than minimizing them, and ultimately increasing long-term public costs and moral hazard. This technical note emphasizes these trade-offs and discusses crucial design elements for effective AMCs: a clear mandate, transfer pricing that prudently reflects asset values and disposal costs, strong governance with independent management, and efficient operational processes promoting transparency and accountability.
Keywords:
Asset Management Company (AMC); Bank resolution; Financial Crisis; Financial regulation and supervision; Problem Asset Resolution; Non-performing Loans; Bank restructuring.; asset price spiral; centralized asset management companies; give borrower; AMC need; AMC debt; bank asset distress; resolution strategy; recovery value; asset characteristic; Asset management companies; Distressed assets; Nonperforming loans; Asset valuation; Loans; Global
Cover IMF How To Notes
How to Evaluate Tax Expenditures
Sebastian Beer
,
Ms. Dora Benedek
,
Brian Erard
, and
Jan Loeprick
Governments use tax expenditures (TEs) to provide financial support or benefits to taxpayers. The budgetary impact of TEs can be similar to that of direct outlays: after the support is provided, less money is available to fund other government priorities. Systematic evaluations are needed to guide informed decision-mak¬ing and to avoid a situation where the narrative on the benefits of TEs is primarily driven by profiting stakeholders. By TE “evaluation,” this note refers to a process that seeks to systematically inform policymak¬ers on the desirability of introducing or maintaining specific tax benefits by gathering and analyzing avail¬able quantitative and qualitative information on their effects. Evaluation processes can be tailored to different levels of data availability and analytical capacity. An evaluation should focus on the policy objective of a TE and whether it effectively and efficiently contrib¬utes to that policy objective. Although important lessons can be learned from coun¬try practices in implementing increasingly ambitious evaluation processes, there is no single best-practice approach to replicate.
Keywords:
tax expenditures; cost-benefit assessment; public policy evaluation; sample evaluation; publication order; publication service; title page; post evaluation; Tax incentives; Compliance costs; Value-added tax; Global; East Asia
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Ireland: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note on Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
While domestic money laundering (ML) threats are well understood by the authorities, Ireland faces significant and increasing threats from foreign criminal proceeds. As a growing international financial center,1 Ireland is exposed to inherent transnational money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) related risks. The ML risks facing Ireland include illicit proceeds from foreign crimes (e.g., corruption, tax crimes). Retail and international banks, trust and company service providers (TCSPs),2 lawyers, and accountants are medium to high-risk for ML, while virtual asset service providers (VASPs) pose emerging risks. Brexit, the recent move of international banks to Dublin, and the COVID-19 pandemic increased the money laundering risks faced by Ireland. The Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) nevertheless has demonstrated a deep and robust experience in assessing and understanding their domestic ML/TF risks; however, an increased focus on risks related to transnational illicit financial flows is required. A thematic risk assessment undertaken by the Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee (AMLSC) of international ML/TF risks would enhance the authorities’ risk understanding and is key to effective response to the rapid financial sector growth. Introducing data analytics tools, including machine learning to leverage potentially available big data on cross-border payments, would allow for efficient detection of emerging risks. The results of this assessment should be published to improve the understanding of transnational ML/TF risks and feed into the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) policy priorities going forward.
Keywords:
TF risk; TF threat; supervisory approach; central bank of Ireland; risk assessment; fund FSAP team; Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT); Financial sector; Financial Sector Assessment Program; Terrorism financing; Tax evasion; Global
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
Special Purpose Entities: Guidelines for a Data Template
Mr. Carlos Sanchez-Munoz
,
Artak Harutyunyan
, and
Ms. Padma S Hurree Gobin
The Note is meant to assist compilers in the practical application of the agreed defini¬tion to identify resident Special Purpose Entities (SPE) in their jurisdictions and in collecting and reporting SPE-related cross-border data. To this end, these guidelines provide practical advice on the (1) implementa¬tion of the definition of SPEs, (2) possible data sources and processes for collecting and compiling SPE-related statistics, and (3) reporting within the agreed Data Template.
Keywords:
Globalization; multinationals; host jurisdictions; institutional units; control; cross-border flows and positions; SPE definition; SPE data collection; company B; SPE flow; SPE statistics; Special purpose vehicle; Data collection; External sector statistics; Foreign direct investment; International investment position; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Pareto-Improving Minimum Corporate Taxation
Mr. Shafik Hebous
and
Mr. Michael Keen
The recent international agreement on a minimum effective corporate tax rate marks a profound change in global tax arrangements. The appropriate level of that minimum, however, has been, and remains, extremely contentious. This paper explores the strategic responses to a minimum tax, which—the policy objective being to change the rules of tax competition game--—are critical for assessing the design and welfare impact of, and prospects for, this fundamental policy innovation. Analysis and calibration plausibly suggest sizable scope for minima that are Pareto-improving, benefiting low as well as high tax countries, over the uncoordinated equilibrium.
Keywords:
Tax Competition; Minimum Taxation; Corporate Tax Reform; International Taxation; competition game; policy objective; corporate tax reform; best response; country benefit; residence country; Corporate income tax; Competition; Tax avoidance; Global
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
How to Assess Country Risk: The Vulnerability Exercise Approach Using Machine Learning
International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department
The IMF’s Vulnerability Exercise (VE) is a cross-country exercise that identifies country-specific near-term macroeconomic risks. As a key element of the Fund’s broader risk architecture, the VE is a bottom-up, multi-sectoral approach to risk assessments for all IMF member countries. The VE modeling toolkit is regularly updated in response to global economic developments and the latest modeling innovations. The new generation of VE models presented here leverages machine-learning algorithms. The models can better capture interactions between different parts of the economy and non-linear relationships that are not well measured in ”normal times.” The performance of machine-learning-based models is evaluated against more conventional models in a horse-race format. The paper also presents direct, transparent methods for communicating model results.
Keywords:
Risk Assessment; Supervised Machine Learning; Prediction; Sudden Stop; Exchange Market Pressure; Fiscal Crisis; Debt; Financial Crisis; Economic Crisis; Economic Growth; VE modeling toolkit; ML technique; Vulnerability Exercise approach using machine learning; IMF's Vulnerability Exercise; ML tool; crisis risk indices; Early warning systems; Global financial crisis of 2008-2009; Sudden stops; Banking crises; Global
Cover Tax Amnesties
Tax Amnesties
Theory, Trends, and Some Alternatives
Mr. Eric Le Borgne
and
Ms. Katherine Baer

Abstract

Tax amnesties remain as popular as ever as a tool for raising revenue and increasing tax compliance. International experience, however, shows that the costs of tax amnesty programs often exceed the programs’ benefits. This paper weighs the advantages and disadvantages of tax amnesties, drawing on results from the theoretical literature, econometric evidence, and selected country and U.S. state case studies. The authors conclude that “successful” tax amnesties are the exception rather than the norm. Improvements in tax administration are the essential ingredient in addressing the main problems that tax amnesties seek to address. Indeed, the most successful amnesty programs rely on improving the tax administration’s enforcement capacity. ?Given the potential drawbacks of tax amnesties, a few alternative measures are discussed.

Keywords:
ISI; SI; taxpayer; tax amnesty; amnesty; tax evader; tax arrears; tax amnesty program; taxpayer anonymity; settlement amount; delinquent taxpayer; Tax administration core functions; Tax evasion; Tax collection; Social security contributions; Tax return filing compliance; Asia and Pacific; tax-evasion benefit; taxpayer register; tax-evasion decision; tax-evasion possibility
Cover IMF Working Papers
Globalization, Tax Competition and the Future of Tax Systems
Mr. Vito Tanzi
This paper discusses the implications for tax systems of globalization of capital markets and of economies. It shows the extent to which particular taxes are affected by the globalization process. It speculates on future developments in this area and on tax competition.
Keywords:
WP; enterprise; country; tax rate; tax competition; tax-haven country; multinational enterprise; tax authorities; net effect; closed economy; enterprise's branch; intra-firm trade; Income and capital gains taxes; Income tax systems; Competition; Corporate income tax; Global
Cover IMF Staff Papers
IMF Staff papers: Volume 43 No. 4
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.
This paper reviews recent theoretical and empirical work on controls over International capital movements. Theoretical contributions reviewed focus on “second-best “ arguments for capital market restrictions, as well as arguments based on multiple equilibria. The empirical literature suggests that controls have been “effective “ in the narrow sense of influencing yield differentials. But there is little evidence that controls have helped governments meet policy objectives, with the exception of reducing the governments’ debt-service costs, and no evidence that controls have enhanced economic welfare in a manner suggested by theory.
Keywords:
SP; paper number; priority mail delivery; Visa credit cards; series name; government wage cut; Capital controls; Inflation; Fiscal consolidation; Wages; Disinflation; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and Pacific; Baltics; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Management of the Nominal Public Debt Theory and Applications
Mr. Pablo Emilio Guidotti
and
Mr. Guillermo Calvo
Optimal management of the public debt is explored in a context where economic policy is continuously revised because, when the public debt is non—indexed, policy—makers are tempted to use inflation in order to reduce the real value of the public debt. The model’s implications are explored following two approaches. First, the effects of various exogenous disturbances are examined by means of numerical simulations. Secondly, the analysis explores—for Italy, Ireland, and the United States—if the model’s implications concerning the maturity structure of government debt are consistent with actual experience.
Keywords:
WP; inflation rate; maturity structure; debt maturity; debt aversion; debt policy; debt level; debt repayment; government debt obligation; maturity composition; Inflation; Government debt management; Tax arrears management