Paying Taxes 2016

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.