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Could Privatization Increase the Efficiency of Tax Administration in Less‐Developed Countries?
Author(s) -
Kiser Edgar,
Baker Kathryn
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.1994.tb01483.x
Subject(s) - tax evasion , public economics , language change , ad valorem tax , agency (philosophy) , tax reform , direct tax , tax administration , economics , business , indirect tax , state (computer science) , economic policy , art , philosophy , literature , epistemology , algorithm , computer science
In spite of the fact that state tax collection systems in less‐developed countries generally are characterized by high levels of tax evasion and official corruption, little experimentation with privatized tax collection has occurred in these countries. This is due in part to: (1) The fact that the literature on privatization has not focused on tax collection, and (2) the existence of prevalent misconceptions regarding the effects of privatized tax collection in earlier periods. This paper uses agency theory and privatization research to discover the conditions under which privatized tax collection may be an efficient alternative to state tax collection, and to show that these conditions are present in many less‐developed countries.