VAT-in-Developing-and-Transitional-Countries-发展中国家增值税.pdf

Value-Added Taxes in Developing and Transitional Countries: Lessons and Questions Richard M. Bird International Tax Program Joseph L. Rotman School of Management University of Toronto Prepared for the First Global International Tax Dialogue Conference on VAT Rome, March 15-16, 2005 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Lessons from Experience 2.1. VAT works 2.2. But it does not always work well 2.3. Tax design: The NOSFA principle 2.4. Tax administration: Growing into a good VAT 2.5. Tax policy is an art, not science 3. Other Issues 3.1. Missing data 3.2. Equity issues 3.3. Small problems 3.4. Chasing shadows 3.5. Changing with the times 4. Conclusion References 2 1. Introduction Few fiscal issues are more important in developing and transitional economies (DTE) than the value-added tax (VAT). Over the last few decades, VAT has swept the world. The principal reasons for the rapid spread of this form of taxation were, first, the early adoption of this form of taxation in the European Union (EU) and, second, the key role played in spreading the word to DTE by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in particular and by international agencies and advisors more generally. The success of VAT in the EU showed that VAT worked. The consistent support and advocacy of this form of taxation by the IMF and others in a variety of countries, first in Latin America, and then around the world, encouraged and facilitated the adoption of VAT by countries with much less developed economic and administrative structures