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Targeting, Cascading, and Indirect Tax Design

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  • Mr. Michael Keen

Abstract

This paper addresses two fundamental issues in indirect tax design. It first revisits the case for reduced rates on items especially important to the poor, establishing conditions under which even very crudely targeted spending measures better serve their interests. It then explores the welfare costs from cascading taxes, showing that these may actually be lower the wider the set of inputs that are taxed but, more to the point—and contrary to the common notion that “a low rate on a broad base” is always good tax policy—may plausibly be large even at a low nominal tax rate and with few stages of production.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Michael Keen, 2013. "Targeting, Cascading, and Indirect Tax Design," IMF Working Papers 2013/057, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2013/057
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. A. Lans Bovenberg, 1987. "Indirect Taxation in Developing Countries: A General Equilibrium Approach," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 34(2), pages 333-373, June.
    2. Atkinson, A. B. & Stiglitz, J. E., 1976. "The design of tax structure: Direct versus indirect taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1-2), pages 55-75.
    3. Bird,Richard & Gendron,Pierre-Pascal, 2011. "The VAT in Developing and Transitional Countries," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107401440.
    4. Bovenberg, A.L., 1987. "Indirect taxation in developing countries : A general equilibrium approach," Other publications TiSEM adac046e-0845-4c4e-904a-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard M. Bird & Eric M. Zolt, 2014. "Taxation and inequality in the Americas: Changing the fiscal contract?," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 7, pages 193-237, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Jaejoon Woo & Elva Bova & Tidiane Kinda & Y. Sophia Zhang, 2017. "Distributional Consequences of Fiscal Adjustments: What Do the Data Say?," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 65(2), pages 273-307, June.
    3. Mario Mansour, 2015. "Tax Policy in MENA Countries: Looking Back and Forward," IMF Working Papers 2015/098, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Kleven, Henrik & Best, Michael & Spinnewijn, Johannes & Waseem, Mazhar & Brockmeyer, Anne, 2013. "Production vs Revenue Efficiency With Limited Tax Capacity: Theory and Evidence From Pakistan," CEPR Discussion Papers 9717, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Isabelle Joumard & Urban Sila & Hermes Morgavi, 2015. "Challenges and Opportunities of India's Manufacturing Sector," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1183, OECD Publishing.
    6. Paukkeri, Tuuli, 2018. "Essays on public economics," Research Reports P72, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Ravi Kanbur & Tuuli Paukkeri & Jukka Pirttilä & Matti Tuomala, 2018. "Optimal taxation and public provision for poverty reduction," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(1), pages 64-98, February.
    8. Antonín Korauš & Miroslav Gombár & Alena Vagaská & Stanislav Šišulák & Filip Černák, 2021. "Secondary Energy Sources and Their Optimization in the Context of the Tax Gap on Petrol and Diesel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    9. Elineema Kisanga & Vincent Leyaro & Wahabi Matengo & Michael Noble & Helen Barnes & Gemma Wright, 2021. "Assessing the distributional impact of lowering the value-added tax rate for standard-rated items in Tanzania and options for recouping revenue losses," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-38, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Richard M. Bird, 2014. "Foreign advice and tax policy in developing countries," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 4, pages 103-144, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Michael Carlos Best & Anne Brockmeyer & Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Johannes Spinnewijn & Mazhar Waseem, 2015. "Production versus Revenue Efficiency with Limited Tax Capacity: Theory and Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(6), pages 1311-1355.
    12. Zhila Abshari & Glenn P. Jenkins & Chun-Yan Kuo & Mostafa Shahee, 2021. "Progressive Taxation versus Progressive Targeted Transfers in the Design of a Sustainable Value Added Tax System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    13. Warwick, Ross & Harris, Tom & Phillips, David & Goldman, Maya & Jellema, Jon & Inchauste, Gabriela & Goraus-Tańska, Karolina, 2022. "The redistributive power of cash transfers vs VAT exemptions: A multi-country study," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    14. Iswahyudi, Heru, 2018. "Where has the money gone?: The case of Value Added Tax revenue performance in Indonesia," MPRA Paper 89876, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    WP; tax; rate; VAT; zero rating; Indirect taxation; Value Added Tax; Targeting; Cascading; deadweight loss; input taxation; uniform rate VAT; cost increase; uniform tax strategy; unrecovered tax; Value-added tax; Optimal taxation; Consumption taxes; Consumption; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies

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