Semi-autonomous revenue authorities for successful implementation of tax administration reform

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:There is a growing tendency towards the establishment of semi-autonomous revenue authorities tocollect taxes on behalf of the government. This is necessary for the efficient tax collection by whichthe state finances its administrative organs. Tax administration as part of the general civil servicehas suffered due to budget restrictions, inefficiency and corruption resulting from the merecharacteristics of the field of public administration.As a remedy, modern tax administrations are now introducing the principles and methods used inthe private sector. The trend in public administration, thus, seems to be towards autonomy andprofessionalization. Strengthening tax administration is thus critical to the successfulimplementation of the whole tax system. Tax administration, to be successful, needs thesimplification of tax policy, commitment at the political and managerial level, and the existence of acomprehensive set of strategies. There is evidence that the creation of semi-autonomous taxauthorities has enabled some developing countries to dramatically increase tax revenue.These semi-autonomous revenue authorities are created with the aim of generating additionalrevenue, improving the tax system and ensuring more equitable taxation. The revenue authorities'model keeps the better employees by better compensation, is flexible in human resourcesmanagement, integrates tax operations, and is flexibile in budget management. Despite theirsimilarity in objective there are some variations of organizational design of revenue authorities fromcountry to country, with differences in their legal foundation, governance structures, staffing,funding basis, and internal organization.However, there are arguments against semi-autonomous revenue authorities and that they are not apanacea of tax administration. The arguments against the revenue authorities' model are highercosts, discontent of the wider civil service (because of inequities of salary), risks involved in theautonomy, potential for corruption, sustainability and necessity. Nevertheless, the advantages ofrevenue authorities weigh more than the disadvantages. To overcome the disadvantages of semiautonomousrevenue authorities, there should be a clearly defined relationship between thegovernment and the revenue authorities, there should be an appropriate regulatory framework andpublic accountability, and the structure should be as simple as possible.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University