IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/itaxpf/v31y2024i3d10.1007_s10797-023-09825-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The regressivity of CIT exemptions in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Alou Adesse Dama

    (Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)
    Université des Sciences Sociales et de Gestion de Bamako (USSGB)
    Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International (FERDI))

  • Gregoire Rota-Graziosi

    (Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)
    Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International (FERDI))

  • Faycal Sawadogo

    (Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)
    International Monetary Fund)

Abstract

Tax holidays remain essential to attract investment in Africa and, more broadly, in developing countries. However, this tax incentive must be better designed to target relevant firms or investments. Based on 2020 tax information, we compute the Effective Average Tax Rate (EATR) of a representative firm with and without investment incentives for 44 African countries. We appreciate the progressivity or regressivity of national tax systems applied to corporations by varying the tax burden with the gross firm’s profitability. Under tax incentives regimes, 20 out of the 44 countries have a regressive EATR profile: They tax more, less profitable firms. We emphasize that 65% of these countries use corporate income tax (CIT) exemption as their main tax incentive instrument. We consider an alternative tax incentive mechanism: CIT credit. This instrument appears superior in several dimensions: (1) Tax credit may reduce the tax burden as CIT exemption does; (2) however, it keeps and may even restore the progressivity of tax incentives; and (3) it is less costly to manage for the tax administration. We developed a web application that allows replicating and modifying our analysis and any financial or tax parameter ( https://shiny.mesocentre.uca.fr/app/citregressivity ).

Suggested Citation

  • Alou Adesse Dama & Gregoire Rota-Graziosi & Faycal Sawadogo, 2024. "The regressivity of CIT exemptions in Africa," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(3), pages 909-934, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:31:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s10797-023-09825-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10797-023-09825-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10797-023-09825-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10797-023-09825-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Diamond & Emmanuel Saez, 2011. "The Case for a Progressive Tax: From Basic Research to Policy Recommendations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(4), pages 165-190, Fall.
    2. Markus Leibrecht & Claudia Hochgatterer, 2012. "Tax Competition As A Cause Of Falling Corporate Income Tax Rates: A Survey Of Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 616-648, September.
    3. Zee, Howell H. & Stotsky, Janet G. & Ley, Eduardo, 2002. "Tax Incentives for Business Investment: A Primer for Policy Makers in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1497-1516, September.
    4. Sebastian Beer & Ruud de Mooij & Shafik Hebous & Michael Keen & Li Liu, 2023. "Exploring Residual Profit Allocation," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 70-109, February.
    5. Alexander Klemm, 2010. "Causes, benefits, and risks of business tax incentives," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 17(3), pages 315-336, June.
    6. de Mooij, Ruud A & Ederveen, Sjef, 2003. "Taxation and Foreign Direct Investment: A Synthesis of Empirical Research," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 673-693, November.
    7. Hines, James R. Jr., 1999. "Lessons From Behavioral Responses to International Taxation," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 52(2), pages 305-322, June.
    8. Simeon Djankov & Tim Ganser & Caralee McLiesh & Rita Ramalho & Andrei Shleifer, 2010. "The Effect of Corporate Taxes on Investment and Entrepreneurship," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 31-64, July.
    9. Michael P. Devereux & Simon Loretz, 2013. "What Do We Know About Corporate Tax Competition?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 66(3), pages 745-774, September.
    10. Stefan Parys & Sebastian James, 2010. "The effectiveness of tax incentives in attracting investment: panel data evidence from the CFA Franc zone," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 17(4), pages 400-429, August.
    11. Simeon Djankov, 2016. "The Doing Business Project: How It Started: Correspondence," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(1), pages 247-248, Winter.
    12. Jane G. Gravelle & Dennis Zimmerman, 1984. "Tax Progressivity and the Design of Tax Incentives for Investment," Public Finance Review, , vol. 12(3), pages 251-289, July.
    13. Timothy Besley, 2015. "Law, Regulation, and the Business Climate: The Nature and Influence of the World Bank Doing Business Project," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 99-120, Summer.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alexander Klemm & Stefan Parys, 2012. "Empirical evidence on the effects of tax incentives," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(3), pages 393-423, June.
    2. Segundo Camino‐Mogro, 2023. "Tax incentives, private investment and employment: Evidence from an Ecuadorian reform," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 2129-2156, October.
    3. S. Abbas & Alexander Klemm, 2013. "A partial race to the bottom: corporate tax developments in emerging and developing economies," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 20(4), pages 596-617, August.
    4. Oscar Amerighi & Giuseppe De Feo, 2014. "Competition for FDI and Profit Shifting: On the Effects of Subsidies and Tax Breaks," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 70(3), pages 374-404, September.
    5. Munongo, Simon & Akanbi, Olusegun Ayo & Robinson, Zurika, 2017. "Do tax incentives matter for investment? A literature review," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center (PRADEC), vol. 13(2).
    6. James Alm & Mir Ahmad Khan, 2015. "Assessing and Reforming Enterprise Taxation in Pakistan," Working Papers 1513, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    7. Mr. Manuk Ghazanchyan & Mr. Alexander D Klemm & Yong Sarah Zhou, 2018. "Tax Incentives in Cambodia," IMF Working Papers 2018/071, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Miniaci Raffaele & Panteghini Paolo M. & Rivolta Giulia, 2022. "The estimation of reaction functions under tax competition," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 23(2), pages 301-339, May.
    9. Mian Sajid Nazir & Qaisar Hafeez & Salah U‐Din, 2022. "Did reduction in corporate tax rate attract FDI in Pakistan?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 2256-2267, April.
    10. Keuschnigg, Christian & Loretz, Simon & Winner, Hannes, 2014. "Tax Competition and Tax Coordination in the European Union: A Survey," Working Papers in Economics 2014-4, University of Salzburg.
    11. Hoppe, Thomas & Schanz, Deborah & Sturm, Susann & Sureth, Caren & Voget, Johannes, 2020. "The relation between tax complexity and foreign direct investment: Evidence across countries," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 250, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    12. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Bernardo Silva-Rêgo & Ariane Figueira, 2022. "Financial and fiscal incentives and inward foreign direct investment: When quality institutions substitute incentives," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(4), pages 417-443, December.
    13. Khadiza Begum, 2024. "Contribution of Tax Induced Foreign Direct Investment for Sustainable Development in Bangladesh," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 34(1), pages 76-91.
    14. Sacchidananda Mukherjee & Shivani Badola, 2023. "Macroeconomic Implications of Changes in Corporate Tax Rates: A Review," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 56(1), pages 20-41, March.
    15. Azevedo, Alcino & Pereira, Paulo J. & Rodrigues, Artur, 2021. "Optimal timing and capacity choice with taxes and subsidies under uncertainty," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    16. Jolanta Galuszka, 2013. "The Fiscal Union As A Remedy For The Economic And Financial Crisis In The European Union," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 8(1), pages 49-67, March.
    17. Shafik Hebous & Martin Ruf & Alfons J. Weichenrieder & Alfons Weichenrieder, 2010. "The Effects of Taxation on the Location Decision of Multinational Firms: M&A vs. Greenfield Investments," CESifo Working Paper Series 3076, CESifo.
    18. Hans Pitlik & Michael Klien & Margit Schratzenstaller-Altzinger & Christina Seyfried, 2015. "Umfassende Steuerhoheit der österreichischen Bundesländer," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58545, March.
    19. Estian Calitz & Sally Wallace & Le Roux Burrows, 2013. "The Impact of Tax Incentives to Stimulate Investment in South Africa," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1306, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    20. Garsous, Grégoire & Corderi, David & Velasco, Mercedes & Colombo, Andrea, 2017. "Tax Incentives and Job Creation in the Tourism Sector of Brazil’s SUDENE Area," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 87-101.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax incentives; Corporate income tax; Transparency; Developing countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • O22 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Project Analysis
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:31:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s10797-023-09825-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.