Political Institutions, State Building, and Tax Capacity: Crossing the Tipping Point
Electronic Access:
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Summary:
An empirical finding by Gaspar, Jaramillo and Wingender (2016) shows that once countries cross a tax-to-GDP threshold of around 12¾ percent, real GDP per capita increases sharply and in a sustained manner over the following decade. In this paper, we attempt via four case studies—Spain, China, Colombia, and Nigeria—to illustrate that the improvements in tax capacity have been part of a deeper process of state capacity building. We discuss the political conditions that supported tax capacity building, highlighting three important political ingredients: constitutive institutions, inclusive politics and credible leadership.
Series:
Working Paper No. 2016/233
Subject:
Fiscal policy Revenue administration Subnational tax Tax administration core functions Tax return filing compliance Taxes
English
Publication Date:
December 2, 2016
ISBN/ISSN:
9781475558142/1018-5941
Stock No:
WPIEA2016233
Pages:
33
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