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Tax Principles and Tax Harmonization under Imperfect Competition: A Cautionary Example

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  • Michael Keen
  • Sajal Lahiri
  • Pascalis Raimondos

Abstract

This paper shows that under imperfect competition the welfare effects of indirect tax harmonization may depend crucially on whether taxes are levied by the destination or the origin principle. In a standard model of imperfect competition, while harmonization always makes at least one country better off, and may be Pareto-improving, when taxes are levied under the destination principle (which currently applies in the European Union), harmonization of origin-based taxes (as recently proposed by the European Commission) is certain to be Pareto-worsening when the preferences in the two countries are identical, and is likely to be so even when they differ.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Keen & Sajal Lahiri & Pascalis Raimondos, 2001. "Tax Principles and Tax Harmonization under Imperfect Competition: A Cautionary Example," CESifo Working Paper Series 518, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_518
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lopez-Garcia, Miguel-Angel, 1998. "On welfare and revenue effects of indirect tax harmonization," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 185-193, August.
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    7. Lockwood, Ben, 2001. "Tax competition and tax co-ordination under destination and origin principles: a synthesis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 279-319, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kenji Fujiwara, 2016. "Tax Principles and Tariff-Tax Reforms under International Oligopoly," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 18(1), pages 84-98, February.
    2. Ourania Karakosta & Christos Kotsogiannis & Miguel-Angel Lopez-Garcia, 2009. "Does Indirect Tax Harmonization Deliver Pareto Improvements in the Presence of Global Public Goods?," CESifo Working Paper Series 2668, CESifo.
    3. Haufler, Andreas & Schjelderup, Guttorm, 2004. "Tacit collusion and international commodity taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3-4), pages 577-600, March.
    4. Ourania Karakosta & Christos Kotsogiannis & Miguel-Angel Lopez-Garcia, 2014. "Indirect tax harmonization and global public goods," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 21(1), pages 29-49, February.
    5. Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis & Schmitt, Nicolas, 2010. "Commodity taxation and parallel imports," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1-2), pages 153-162, February.
    6. Agrawal, David R. & Mardan, Mohammed, 2019. "Will destination-based taxes be fully exploited when available? An application to the U.S. commodity tax system," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 128-143.
    7. Moriconi, Simone & Sato, Yasuhiro, 2009. "International commodity taxation in the presence of unemployment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(7-8), pages 939-949, August.
    8. Behrens, Kristian & Hamilton, Jonathan H. & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 2007. "Commodity tax harmonization and the location of industry," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 271-291, July.
    9. Christos Kotsogiannis & Miguel-Angel Lopez-Garcia, 2007. "Imperfect competition, indirect tax harmonization and public goods," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 14(2), pages 135-149, April.
    10. David R. Agrawal & William F. Fox, 2017. "Taxes in an e-commerce generation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(5), pages 903-926, September.
    11. Kenji Fujiwara, 2015. "Tax Principles and Tariff-Tax Reforms," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 71(3), pages 360-370, September.
    12. Behrens, Kristian & Hamilton, Jonathan H. & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2009. "Commodity tax competition and industry location under the destination and the origin principle," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 422-433, July.
    13. Kenji Fujiwara, 2014. "Tax Principles and Coordination of Trade and Domestic Policies Under Imperfect Competition," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1-2), pages 29-40, June.
    14. Fujiwara, Kenji, 2014. "Pareto-improving tariff-tax reforms under imperfect competition," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 12-20.
    15. Andreas Haufler & Christian Schulte, 2007. "Merger Policy and Tax Competition," Working Papers 035, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    16. Sajal Lahiri & Peri Silva, 2016. "Potential Pareto-Improving Move Toward Most Favored Nation Tariffs," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(2), pages 1086-1104, April.
    17. Christos Kotsogiannis & Miguel‐Angel Lopez‐Garcia, 2021. "On commodity tax harmonization and public goods provision," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 23(6), pages 1220-1227, December.
    18. Fabio Antoniou & Panos Hatzipanayotou & Michael S. Michael & Nikos Tsakiris, 2022. "Tax competition in the presence of environmental spillovers," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(3), pages 600-626, June.
    19. Michele Santoni, 2017. "Protective Excise Taxation," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 421-445, December.
    20. Benjamin Harbolt, 2019. "Tax Avoidance through E-Commerce and Cross-Border Shopping," CESifo Working Paper Series 7814, CESifo.
    21. Krishanu Karmakar & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2014. "Fiscal Competition versus Fiscal Harmonization: A Review of the Arguments," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1431, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    22. Andreas Haufler & Christian Schulte, 2011. "Merger policy and tax competition: the role of foreign firm ownership," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(2), pages 121-145, April.
    23. Kotsogiannis, Christos & Lopez-Garcia, Miguel-Angel & Myles, Gareth D., 2005. "The origin principle, tax harmonization and public goods," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 211-219, May.
    24. Fabio Antoniou & Panos Hatzipanayotou & Michael S. Michael & Nikos Tsakiris, 2019. "On the Principles of Commodity Taxation under Interregional Externalities," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 03-2019, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    25. Miguel Angel López-García, 2004. "Welfare, Revenue and Indirect Tax Harmonization under the Origin Principle," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 168(1), pages 9-25, marzo.

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