Around the world, there are concerns that many tax codes are biased against women, and that contemporary tax reforms tend to increase the incidence of taxation on the poorest women while failing to generate enough revenue to fund the programs needed to improve these women's lives. Because taxes are the key source of revenue governments themselves raise, understanding the nature and composition of taxation and current tax reform efforts is key to reducing poverty, providing sufficient revenue for public expenditure, and achieving social justice. This is the first book to systematically examine gender and taxation within and across countries at different levels of development. It presents original research on the gender dimensions of personal income taxes, and value-added, excise, and fuel taxes in Argentina, Ghana, India, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, Uganda and the United Kingdom. This book will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers studying Public Finance, International Economics, Development Studies, Gender Studies, and International Relations, among other disciplines.

This title was commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat as part of its commitment to integrate gender concerns into economic policy. It provides information to assist in the analysis of potential gender bias in tax systems and the design of gender-sensitive revenue measures.

Gender responsive budgeting is a key instrument to track how governments are investing in advancing gender equality and equity. While most studies of gender responsive budgeting work so far have examined the expenditure side of the budget, the revenue side is equally important. In this Economic Paper, Nite Tanzarn looks at the revenue and tax system in Uganda, a country that has moved from analysis to action in gender responsive budgeting. This case study will show policy-makers in ministries of finance worldwide how government revenue collection practices affect men and women differently, and how to build an awareness of gender into financial policy.

Studies on gender-sensitive budgeting have concentrated on the expenditure side of government budgets. Through a case study from India, Nirmala Banerjee explores the other side of the budget taxes and other means of raising revenue. By highlighting the relative effects of changes in taxation policy on men and on women this study will help to raise awareness of gender among those responsible for planning the tax system, in India and elsewhere."

Comprises ten papers which document "good practice" in gender budget work from across the globe.

Excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products can be an effective instrument for promoting public health through the curbing of smoking and excessive drinking, while raising significant financing for development priorities. Designed and implement well, excise taxes represent a win-win for public health and finances. While the public policy rationale for excise reforms is strong in both developed and developing countries, realizing reforms in practice often faces significant opposition by the industry and vested interests. Low level, complex and poorly designed excise tax regimes persist. Getting the technical details right, and effectively managing the political economy of reforms, are vital to securing better excise tax outcomes. The Philippines passed in 2012, implemented, and has been results monitoring a successful tobacco and alcohol tax, dubbed Sin Tax. The reform not only greatly increased, simplified and improved the excise tax reform, but also earmarked the significant part of the large ensuring incremental revenues to helping finance Universal Health Care (UHC) for the bottom forty percent of the population. Sin Tax Reform in the Philippines summarizes both the technical and political economy aspects of tobacco and excise tax reforms. The study analyzes issues of rate structure and levels, implementation phasing, and equity impact analysis. The book is intended as a resource for audiences in both the Philippines and other countries wishing to promote successful excise tax reforms to towards between public sector governance, finances and health. For the Philippines, it highlights measures to ensure that the revenue and expenditure measures associated with the reform continue to be delivered, and can be deepened over time. The Philippines experience should prove encouraging and useful for reform champions in other countries advancing similar types of excise tax and development financing/expenditure earmarking for equitable development and public health.

Ensuring women's economic empowerment and access to and control over resources requires an integrated approach to growth and development, focused on gender-responsive employment promotion and informed by the interdependency between economic and social development. Social objectives need to be incorporated into economic policies. Economic growth strategies should give attention to the real economy and focus on creating a gender-sensitive macroeconomic environment, full employment and decent work, access to land, property and other productive resources as well as financial services, and full coverage of social protection measures. The Survey outlines a number of concrete recommendations in these critical areas, which if adopted, will facilitate women's equitable access to and control over economic and financial resources.