Читать книгу A Comparative Analysis on Tax Administration in Asia and the Pacific - Satoru Araki - Страница 6

A robust and sustainable tax system requires good tax administration. This report compares the administrative frameworks, functions, and performances of revenue bodies in 22 economies in Asia and the Pacific. The descriptive analysis is based on surveys of revenue bodies conducted in 2012 and 2013. The surveys are an attempt to provide internationally comparable data on aspects of jurisdictions’ tax systems and their administration. Some tentative conclusions emerge from the comparative analysis.

Revenue bodies’ survey responses suggest that the degree of autonomy given by governments to tax administrations to carry out their functions varies across the region. Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore have the most independent tax administrations, with autonomy in human resources management, budget, and internal organization. A number of revenue bodies in the region can be classified as a directorate within the Ministry of Finance with limited autonomy. Increasing those revenue bodies’ autonomy may help enhance their effectiveness and efficiency. Autonomy protects from political interference in day-to-day operations and gives tax administrations the flexibility in policy choices that they need to be able to respond to the rapidly changing challenges they face. Any extensive reforms, however, of the institutional arrangements between revenue bodies and ministries of finance cannot be carried out by the revenue body on its own, but require working with the government, civil service systems, and other public sector departments.

Effective human resources management is a key requirement for tax administrations where people are the most important enablers to carry out their main mandate, which is to collect tax revenue. Moreover, the environment in which tax administrations operate is rapidly changing with rising complexity of tax rules, increasing globalization and international transactions, and growing demands and expectations from taxpayers in terms of service delivery and law enforcement. Revenue bodies require an adequate level of staffing of motivated, well-trained professionals with high integrity. Some revenue bodies, such as in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar, seem to be underresourced and understaffed in proportion to the size of their populations. Moreover, the survey results suggest that some revenue bodies spend relatively few resources on human resources management, and performance management systems are lacking in a number of jurisdictions.

The allocation of staff resources by function varies across revenue bodies. A large proportion of staff resources are dedicated to verification and account management activities. Tax debt collection, another key compliance function of tax administrations, shows clear differences between Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and developing economies with respect to the accumulation of tax arrears (i.e., unpaid taxes) and tax administrations’ arrears collection performance. Tax arrears tend to be a more frequent occurrence in developing economies than developed countries, reflecting lower enforcement capacity by tax administrations and taxpayer compliance. Collecting unpaid taxes is a difficult task for any tax administration, and helping taxpayers meet their obligations to avoid the occurrence of tax debt and assisting those who have accumulated liabilities to manage their debt are strategies for tax administrations to consider.

The majority of revenue bodies surveyed (16 out of 22) has a large taxpayer unit focusing on the tax affairs of large enterprises. Myanmar and Papua New Guinea currently do not have such units, but each is considering setting up one. A substantial portion of tax revenue is raised from large corporations, and having a team dedicated to large taxpayers can help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tax administrations. A small number of revenue bodies also have a unit specializing in high net worth individuals (HNWIs), who tend to have complex tax affairs and the tools and means for tax planning. Personal income tax collection remains low in some of the economies surveyed despite a rapidly rising number of HNWIs in the region. Tax administrations could consider setting up a HNWI unit to help with the collection of personal income taxes if they currently do not have such a unit.

Information and communication technology (ICT) is another important aspect for tax administrations. It is a significant component of the overall expenditure budget for several revenue bodies, but ICT costs as a percent of total expenditures are relatively low in some countries (e.g., Indonesia, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Malaysia). ICT offers electronic taxpayer services, which can significantly reduce administration costs and taxpayer compliance costs. Availability and penetration rates of electronic filing systems vary among jurisdictions. In developing countries, while there are challenges to expand the usage of electronic filing, for example, because of the limited availability of internet access for individuals, there probably is scope for expanding electronic filing by companies for corporate income and value-added taxes.

Regarding tax payments, either internet banking or direct debit via bank accounts is available in 16 jurisdictions. Some revenue bodies still offer traditional payment methods such as in-person payment at tax offices, which are costly to provide. A shift to electronic tax payment methods would help reduce tax administration costs and the scope for bribery and corruption, which is substantially higher with in-person payments at tax offices. Moreover, some revenue bodies (12 out of 22) have started to use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to provide information and interact with taxpayers. While the use of social media platforms is still limited, they could become an effective communication tool for tax administrations, and future developments are expected in this area.

With respect to the protection of taxpayer rights, administrative review processes are generally available in the jurisdictions surveyed, but the details of the review structure and the division of labor between the administrative branch and the judicial branch vary across jurisdictions. Ten out of the 22 revenue bodies surveyed have a second administrative review system where an objection once examined by the tax administration section can be reviewed again at the administrative level. A key direction for better dispute resolution systems is to strengthen the independence of review institutions from the tax authorities.

Compared with OECD countries, where there has been a growing trend toward integrating various government services and functions, revenue bodies in Asia and the Pacific have limited nontax functions, such as the collection of customs and social security contributions. Given economies’ limited fiscal resources and tax administrations’ know-how, office network, and human resources dedicated to collection operations, a similar trend is expected to emerge in Asia and the Pacific.

Finally, many factors influence the functioning of tax administrations, and the next step is to use the data collected from the surveys of revenue bodies in the region and OECD countries to determine which factors have a statistically significant influence on revenue bodies’ performance.