Resource information
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.
