Paying Taxes 2016

Abstract

Since the first edition of paying taxes,
 and especially following the global financial crisis, the
 media, the public, and many policymakers have become
 increasingly interested in how international tax systems
 operate. Most recently the focus has been the work initiated
 by the G20 and carried out by the Organization of Economic
 Cooperation and Development (OECD) on base erosion and
 profit shifting (BEPS). The BEPS agenda however does not
 consider what some commentators will consider to be equally
 important issues for developing economies, including how to
 enhance the administrative capacities of tax authorities,
 reduce the informal economy, and corruption while promoting
 growth and investment. The paying taxes study, with its
 emphasis on efficient tax compliance and straightforward tax
 regimes provides valuable insight into many of these
 developing country issues. It can be an invaluable source of
 information to decision-makers, providing an independent
 assessment of whether interventions are resulting in a
 simplified compliance process for a standardized domestic
 model business. Governments also often find it useful to be
 able to learn from the experience of economies in their peer
 group and to consider whether a measure adopted elsewhere
 may be relevant for the economy.