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And we are off! Day 2 of the @ICTDTax What's Next for Tax Research in Africa? Conference. Today is informal taxation, property tax and international tax #ICTD19pic.twitter.com/PN1lNMHYyW
It's Fabrizio again (for the last time he promises) introducing a study in Gedo, Somalia - - role of informal taxes to clans, religious groups and armed groups - - what is the relationship w accountability, formal taxes, 'community driven development' aid, cash transferspic.twitter.com/MBOUWrn4cV
Informal taxation widespread. Formal taxation least trusted. But poor people contribute disproportionately. Following cash transfer programme - Villagers paid almost full value of CT to village leaders. Coercion?
Vanessa van den Boogaard on "informal tax" eg payments to support community services parent teacher associations to pay for schools and teacher, funding for water well maintainance.pic.twitter.com/Kd5fUfP61L
Adams Tommy from Sierra Leone on efforts to improve taxes by traditional authorities: a committee to oversee collection and spending, improve systemspic.twitter.com/mZpuSKXJR7
. @MaxGallien notes how many development interventions have focused on the interface between formal & informal - microcredit, microenterprise, registration - how to manage the intersection between formal and informal in tax?pic.twitter.com/AeTlnKRwcJ
. @MickICTD notes that the situation in Rwanda is exactly the opposite - central govt collects & distributes local taxes, developing digital cadastre for property taxpic.twitter.com/WWWlCNM2Nk
. @Vvandenboogaard notes that women make more informal tax payments. This may reflect their role in the household. Women also strongly involved in local processes to determine how local taxes are spent
. @hmsaka3 on Uganda's move to simplify taxes on long distance minibus "taxis" - they shouldn't have to pay in every district they pass thru but centrally, w revenues then distributed
. Oliver Morrisey @UoNSocialSci disputes the conceptualisation of informal taxes - should it include user fees payments for club goods? Jalia Kangave @ICTDTax says if the messy definition makes us uncomfortable it should: its a payment for services that govt should be providing.
Riel Franzsen @UPTuks - sets up the dilemmas: transfer tax/stamp duty are high and popular in Africa but can it coexist w CGT? Undermines recurrent property taxes.pic.twitter.com/XP3aDgRUBn
. @surmizes on research in Kenya & Senegal: street level tax collectors accomadate people they perceive as poor or underserviced, with payment plans & exceptions, while strongly taxing land speculators - - could informal practices be turned into policy? Listen to tax collectorspic.twitter.com/1DYVYgPhF4
Fred Andema on Kampala City's development of data systems to underpin property tax. First w mobile phone pics and then with drones. Reminders by sms. But individual valuation expensive. Developing mass valuation techniques to make it simplerpic.twitter.com/Mfqh2AGdjA
Justine Knebelmann on collaboration in Dakar - revenue admin, University researchers and software developer to develop property tax system open source android interface for mapping properties & valuation based on external featurespic.twitter.com/LJQCMm53A7
. @MickICTD warns against romanticising local street level collectors - any place where tax is assessed and collected face to face is a recipe for corruption.
. @surmizes responds that should use tax collector experience as data for better designing tax administration - not a participatory approach
And now for something completely different! 2 hours on international tax starting w @SolPicciotto @Ezenagu @martinhearson & Mike Durst on allocation of MNE income #ICTD19pic.twitter.com/GmCD63tr6F
Sol is giving the 20 minute history of the international tax system, the ALP, transfer pricing, BEPS, simplified methodspic.twitter.com/S3NlhmghY0
Brazil uses simple method. No transfer pricing. Two types of company: importing and exporting with fixed margins. Rough justice, but simple to administer.
. @Ezenagu makes the case for safe harbours: secure revenue, reduce cists and uncertainty on both sides, equitable treatment of companies within the covered industriespic.twitter.com/Vfwvzsxzz6
... And the case against from @OECDtax: fears of double taxation, breaking ALP. But support from many countries and companies. Now OECD gives cautious, limited support
Size thresholds for SMEs and small transactions are common, but Africa's large enterprises tend to be smaller. So sectoral safe harbours, sectoral APAs may be useful for most African countries
Mike Durst suggests a turnover based alternative minimum taxpic.twitter.com/6PmGu03Jmd
Mike Durst's proposal for a 1% AMT on turnover .... 18 countries do something like this (particularly in Francophone Africa) but many undermine it with low caps on the amount & tax holidays. How is it imposed in practice? http://www.ictd.ac/durst-book pic.twitter.com/a6eqB0UUhK
. @VAdegite supports safe harbours as a good tool. Avoid testing every transaction. Set a safe range e.g. For routine support services
Revolution or evolution? @SolPicciotto say its a waste of capacity to train people up on transfer pricing on OECD method or adopt another short term method on expectation of wider change. Is it cost effective? Alternatives: royalties, telecoms tax, AMT and TP using simple formula
Mike Durst: would an AMT encourage companies to pay no more than the safe harbour? Yes but companies already seek to lower their taxes. The AMT takes away incentive for tax avoidance
Q: What's the tax gap? Sol says size of revenue gains is not important, the prize is to reduce the complication of the transfer pricing systems. Would be good for investment certainty
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