DUSHANBE, November 21, Asia-Plus — Tax reforms that make it easier for firms to pay taxes can increase government revenues by broadening the tax base, says a new report launched today by the World Bank, IFC, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, press release issued by the World Bank said.
Paying Taxes 2008
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the second report in an annual series on tax systems, covers 178 countries worldwide. The report concludes that there is a win-win opportunity for governments and firms if governments simplify tax systems, ease the compliance cost on business, and reduce tax rates.
This year, 31 economies improved their business tax systems, and 65 have done so over the past three years. Bulgaria was the top reformer, and Turkey was runner-up. While reducing corporate income tax was the most popular reform, implemented in 27 economies worldwide, many countries have reduced the compliance burden by simplifying or eliminating other business taxes. Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia had the most reforms in 2006 and 2007, but tax rates remain highest there and in Africa. The compliance burden is highest in Latin America and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
According to the report, complying with administrative tax requirements remains a real burden for business. Globally, on average, a company spends almost two months a year complying with tax regulations—15 days for corporate income taxes, 21 for labor taxes and contributions, and 21 for consumption taxes. However, there are wide variations between countries. For example, it takes 105 days to comply with consumption taxes in Azerbaijan but only one day in Switzerland.
The study allows direct comparison of tax systems from around the world. It shows how businesses are affected not only by tax rates, but also by the procedural burden of compliance. The report focuses on the number of tax payments made, the time it takes to comply, and the cost of taxes, which is measured by the total tax rate. The total tax rate covers five types of taxes that firms pay: profit, social, property, turnover, and other taxes, such as municipal fees and fuel taxes. The steps, time, and cost indicators are used to determine the overall ease of paying taxes.
The report calls on businesses to play a strategic part in reform. Authors of the report note that businesses need to be more upfront in revealing their total tax contributions, to help governments assess their real economic footprint. More and better information about the taxes paid and the cost of compliance is essential to understanding how tax systems affect businesses. It is clear that governments need to look across all taxes when considering reform.
The findings demonstrate that when considering reform, governments need to look at all taxes paid by companies.
The Paying Taxes study was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Bank Group as part of the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2008 report. The methodology applied to calculate the total tax rate for each country uses the broad principles from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Total Tax Contribution Framework and looks across all taxes that businesses pay. The total tax rate indicator measures the amount of all taxes borne by the business in the second year of operation, expressed as a percentage of commercial profits.
