• About us
  • GSDRC Publications
  • Research Helpdesk
  • E-Bulletin
  • Privacy policy

GSDRC

Governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian knowledge services

  • Governance
    • Democracy & elections
    • Public sector management
    • Security & justice
    • Service delivery
    • State-society relations
  • Social Development
    • Gender
    • Inequalities & exclusion
    • Social protection
    • Poverty & wellbeing
  • Humanitarian Issues
    • Humanitarian financing
    • Humanitarian response
    • Recovery & reconstruction
    • Refugees/IDPs
    • Risk & resilience
  • Conflict
    • Conflict analysis
    • Conflict prevention
    • Conflict response
    • Conflict sensitivity
    • Impacts of conflict
    • Peacebuilding
  • Development Pressures
    • Climate change
    • Food security
    • Fragility
    • Migration & diaspora
    • Population growth
    • Urbanisation
  • Approaches
    • Complexity & systems thinking
    • Institutions & social norms
    • PEA / Thinking & working politically
    • Results-based approaches
    • Theories of change
  • Aid Instruments
    • Budget support & SWAps
    • Capacity building
    • Civil society partnerships
    • Multilateral aid
    • Private sector partnerships
    • Technical assistance
  • M&E
    • Indicators
    • Learning
    • M&E approaches
Home»GSDRC Publications»Effectiveness of tax reform interventions

Effectiveness of tax reform interventions

Helpdesk Report
  • Laura Bolton
March 2017

Question

Which interventions have had the largest impact on increasing tax revenues and under what conditions?

Summary

The academic and practitioner literature on tax reform, and comments from several experts contacted in connection with this report, emphasise that improving the performance of tax systems is highly complex and context-specific, without simple or direct answers. Improvements are only likely to come from combinations of large and small changes made with close and detailed knowledge of particular circumstances. Case studies reported by ITC-OECD (2015) report many different elements to reforms and difficulty in attributing improved results. A joint IMF, OECD, UN, and World Bank Group report acknowledges that building tax capacity in wealthy countries “has been the work of centuries” and that “no easy or quick fixes for establishing broad fiscal capacity” should be expected, although “patient, focused reform can achieve a great deal” (IMF et al. 2016, pp. 10-11).

file type icon See Full Report [PDF - 446 KB]

Enquirer:

  • DFID

Suggested citation

Bolton, L. (2017). Effectiveness of tax reform interventions. K4D Helpdesk Report. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.

Related Content

Impacts of tax capacity on development outcomes 
Helpdesk Report
2017
Mapping donor activities in support of tax capacity
Helpdesk Report
2017
Taxation, governance and growth
E-Learning
2016
Linkages between taxation and stability
Helpdesk Report
2016
birminghamids hcri

gro.crdsg@seiriuqne Feedback Disclaimer

Outputs supported by FCDO are © Crown Copyright 2023; outputs supported by the Australian Government are © Australian Government 2023; and outputs supported by the European Commission are © European Union 2023
Connect with us: facebooktwitter

Outputs supported by DFID are © DFID Crown Copyright 2023; outputs supported by the Australian Government are © Australian Government 2023; and outputs supported by the European Commission are © European Union 2023