About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 67th National Conference and Annual Dinner 1 (2004)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/taxfaabb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FUNDAMENTAL TAX REFORM: THE EXPERIENCE OF OECD COUNTRIES By Jeffrey Owens Director Centre for Tax Policy & Administration, OECD Presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of Tax Foundation Washington D.C. 1. Introduction Let me first congratulate the Tax Foundation for putting together an agenda which focuses on some of the key issues facing tax reformers today. The US has a President elected with a clear mandate for reform and, with his new majorities in the House and Senate, the power to implement fundamental tax reform. Over the last 10 years, the US has spent significant political and intellectual capital in discussing fundamental tax reforms. In practice, however, reform has been limited to incremental changes to the existing system. This is not to undermine what has been achieved. There were some very significant changes to the tax code in 2004, particularly as regards international tax arrangements. Fundamental tax reform must by definition go beyond piecemeal changes, and beyond lowering (or raising) tax rates. It involves changing the way the tax system works. The rest of the world has a direct interest in the outcome of these discussions. Where the US goes on tax reform will influence the options open to and taken by other OECD countries. (How will they react if the US does move from an income to a consumption tax?). Similarly the US can benefit from the experience of other OECD countries. There is little new in the tax world: almost every proposal on the table today - from flat taxes to expenditure taxes - has been tried by one or other country. Countries can look and learn from the experiences of their neighbors (see how the UK has drawn from the US on the earned income credit). And herein lies the interest of this conference. What beter way to launch the US debate than to look at how countries as diverse as Canada, Russia, Slovakia, UK, Poland, and Ireland have approached reform. It's not difficult to identify the main objectives of most tax reforms: * A simple tax system. * A fairer tax system. * A system that promotes rather than inhibits growth And of course a system that delivers the revenues that governments need to finance expenditures. We must never forget that a the end of the day, tax systems are all about collecting tax dollars in the most efficient and fair manner to pay for public services. 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most