About this Event
1. Corporate Tax Morale – Implications for policymakers, tax administration and tax practitioners
Synopsis: Tax compliance is low among small businesses. In our empirical study, we address for the first time a critical question, namely why is this the case, particularly in developing countries? Our empirical analysis shows that SMEs’ tax behaviour is influenced by more than fear and deterrence measures, such as audits and penalties. On the contrary, similarly to individuals, SMEs’ compliance decisions are largely driven by the psychological factors of its owners. The analysis identifies therefore a corporate tax morale that runs counter to both the legal fiction that holds these enterprises as separate entities, and the standard tax policy assumption that VAT is a fully neutral tax for businesses. In our analysis we identify five motivations endogenous to the tax system, and six motivations exogenous to the tax system that explain SMEs’ tax (non-) compliance.
2. Designing a Progressive GST for a Modern GST Regime
Synopsis: GST is perceived as inherently regressive. To address this perceived regressivity, traditional VAT systems use exemptions and reduced rates; while modern GST systems use welfare transfers. In our paper, we present a novel approach to addressing regressivity, by proposing the adoption of a progressive GST: a single-rate, broad-base, whereby tax paid on consumption is re-paid to lower income households in real-time, at the moment of purchase. Such a system can effectively eliminate regressivity, while minimizing the political economy, cash-flow, and welfare stigma obstacles that are often associated with standard welfare transfers used in modern GST systems. It would also have other significant advantages, particularly in terms of compliance incentives.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Revenue House, 55 Newton Road, Toa Payoh, Singapore
SGD 100.00 to SGD 109.00
