Fair Taxation in the Middle East and North Africa

Fair Taxation in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Mario Mansour
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2015-09-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513519751

Fairness – and what governments can do about it – is at the forefront of economic and social debate all over the world. In MENA, this has been at the core of recent political transitions but has not been adequately addressed. This SDN explores how tax systems – a critical interface between the state and citizens – can play a role in meeting demands for greater economic fairness in MENA countries. The SDN finds that for countries with well-established non-hydrocarbon tax systems (mostly oil importers) reforms should focus on simplifying tax structures and introducing more progressivity of personal income taxes, broadening tax bases, and better designing and enforcing property taxes. Tax administration should be more efficient and user-friendly while simplifying tax regimes will reduce the scope for arbitrary implementation. MENA countries with less established non-hydrocarbon revenue systems can begin with a “starter pack” that includes introduction of low-rate value-added and corporate income taxes, excises, and property taxes while building up administrative capacity and taxation expertise together with plans for introducing a personal income tax. Across the region, effective communication, transparency, and constructive dialogue between the State and citizens are critical to the success of reforms.

Taxation and Tax Policies in the Middle East

Taxation and Tax Policies in the Middle East
Author: Hossein Askari
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1483144615

Taxation and Tax Policies in the Middle East evaluates the general role that tax policies have played in the economic development of the Middle East since 1945 and proposes some recommendations on how fiscal tools could be better used to promote further advancement in this region. This book is divided into six parts. Part I contains the purpose and outline of the study, while Part II discusses the economic aspects of the major categories of taxes used in most developing countries. The fiscal history and categorical breakdown of the tax profiles of 16 Middle Eastern countries are reviewed in Part III. Part IV analyzes the literature on econometric models that explain differences among countries in tax effort. In Part V, the differences in relative tax efforts across 16 countries with considerations in Islamic history, culture, and natural resource endowment are elaborated. The last part summarizes the entire study. This publication is a good reference for economists and specialists concerned with the taxation and tax policies in the Middle East.

Corporate Income Taxes under Pressure

Corporate Income Taxes under Pressure
Author: Ruud A. de Mooij
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2021-02-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513511777

The book describes the difficulties of the current international corporate income tax system. It starts by describing its origins and how changes, such as the development of multinational enterprises and digitalization have created fundamental problems, not foreseen at its inception. These include tax competition—as governments try to attract tax bases through low tax rates or incentives, and profit shifting, as companies avoid tax by reporting profits in jurisdictions with lower tax rates. The book then discusses solutions, including both evolutionary changes to the current system and fundamental reform options. It covers both reform efforts already under way, for example under the Inclusive Framework at the OECD, and potential radical reform ideas developed by academics.

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Mr.Hamid R Davoodi
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2003-09-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781589062290

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.

Middle East and North Africa Investment Policy Perspectives

Middle East and North Africa Investment Policy Perspectives
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2021-03-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9264473041

Middle East and North Africa Investment Policy Perspectives highlights the considerable progress in investment policies made by the region’s governments over the past decade. Yet, the reform momentum needs to be sustained and deepened for the benefits of investment to be shared with society at large and for growth to be sustainable, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting global economic upheaval.

Investing in the Middle East

Investing in the Middle East
Author: Ashraf Mishrif
Publisher:
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2010
Genre: Egypt
ISBN: 9786000043452

The effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic development has been widely debated. However, the real challenge is not only to examine the effect of FDI on economic development but to also investigate the most appropriate economic policies that are conducive to increasing levels of FDI. Ashraf Mishrif here addresses this challenge and examines the interplay between external and internal forces to determine whether recent EU-Egyptian trade agreements have led to any significant improvement in Egypt's investment environment and in the growth levels of European direct investment in the.

Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Robert P. Beschel
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815736983

Critical examinations of efforts to make governments more efficient and responsive Political upheavals and civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have obscured efforts by many countries in the region to reform their public sectors. Unwieldy, unresponsive—and often corrupt—governments across the region have faced new pressure, not least from their publics, to improve the quality of public services and open up their decisionmaking processes. Some of these reform efforts were under way and at least partly successful before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2010. Reform efforts have continued in some countries despite the many upheavals since then. This book offers a comprehensive assessment of a wide range of reform efforts in nine countries. In six cases the reforms targeted core systems of government: Jordan's restructuring of cabinet operations, the Palestinian Authority's revision of public financial management, Morocco's voluntary retirement program, human resource management reforms in Lebanon, an e-governance initiative in Dubai, and attempts to improve transparency in Tunisia. Five other reform efforts tackled line departments of government, among them Egypt's attempt to improve tax collection and Saudi Arabia's work to improve service delivery and bill collection. Some of these reform efforts were more successful than others. This book examines both the good and the bad, looking not only at what each reform accomplished but at how it was implemented. The result is a series of useful lessons on how public sector reforms can be adopted in MENA.

Taxing Wages 2021

Taxing Wages 2021
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 651
Release: 2021-04-29
Genre:
ISBN: 9264438181

This annual publication provides details of taxes paid on wages in OECD countries. It covers personal income taxes and social security contributions paid by employees, social security contributions and payroll taxes paid by employers, and cash benefits received by workers. Taxing Wages 2021 includes a special feature entitled: “Impact of COVID-19 on the Tax Wedge in OECD Countries”.

Rulers, Religion, and Riches

Rulers, Religion, and Riches
Author: Jared Rubin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2017-02-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 110703681X

This book seeks to explain the political and religious factors leading to the economic reversal of fortunes between Europe and the Middle East.