Comparative Tax Administration

3 credits · School of Public Policy

This course is required for ITP fellows. Reviews modern approaches to tax administration for both border and domestic taxes, and compares approaches across countries. The course covers all the major functions of tax administration, considering legal, technical and managerial issues. The trends in tax administration toward a greater degree of self-assessment, and toward functional and client-oriented organization are themes throughout the course. In addition, new trends and techniques are highlighted, including computerization and e-governance, the design of risk-weighted random audit selection, and valuation and transfer pricing issues. The organization of tax administration is a core issue, including the use of revenue authorities and the legal frameworks underpinning tax administration and organization. Finally, tax reform experiences are reviewed, including planning and change management. Instructor consent is required.