The Cost and Benefits of Tax Treaties with Investment Hubs: Findings from Sub-Saharan Africa
Title | The Cost and Benefits of Tax Treaties with Investment Hubs: Findings from Sub-Saharan Africa PDF eBook |
Author | Sebastian Beer |
Publisher | International Monetary Fund |
Pages | 38 |
Release | 2018-10-24 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1484378008 |
This paper investigates the costs and benefits of concluding double tax treaties with investment hubs. Based on a sample of 41 African economies from 1985–2015, the results suggest that signing treaties with investment hubs is not associated with additional investments; yet, these treaties tend to come with nonnegligible revenue losses. Building on a theoretical model, the paper investigates the role of treaty shopping in driving nominal investment flows and provides indirect evidence for its importance in the sample
Too High a Price? Tax Treaties with Investment Hubs in Sub-Saharan Africa
Title | Too High a Price? Tax Treaties with Investment Hubs in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF eBook |
Author | S. Beer |
Publisher | |
Pages | |
Release | 2021 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
This paper investigates the costs and benefits of concluding double tax treaties with investment hubs. Based on a sample of 41 African economies from 1985 to 2015, the results suggest that signing treaties with investment hubs is not associated with additional investments; yet, these treaties tend to come with non-negligible revenue losses. Building on a theoretical model, the paper investigates the role of treaty shopping in driving nominal investment flows and provides indirect evidence for its importance in the sample.
Tax Treaties for Investment and Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa: a Case Study
Title | Tax Treaties for Investment and Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa: a Case Study PDF eBook |
Author | |
Publisher | |
Pages | 69 |
Release | 2005 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
Tax treaties are believed to increase cross-border trade and investment by reducing international tax burdens. The pursuit of tax treaties is therefore advanced as an integral component of U.S. foreign aid policy, which increasingly favors indirect assistance in the form of fostering trade and investment over traditional direct assistance in the form of donor funding. The importance of tax treaties is especially advanced in the context of U.S. relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty-related conditions are extreme and foreign trade and investment minimal. Yet despite many years of consistent promotion there are currently no tax treaties between the United States and the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. This article explains the apparent contradiction by presenting as a test case a hypothetical tax treaty between the U.S. and Ghana. The case study illustrates that in today's global commercial climate, traditional tax treaties provide few tax benefits to and indeed may negatively impact private investors. Consequently, the continuing absence of tax treaties can be explained by the lack of incentives for private investors to pressure the U.S. government to conclude these agreements. This article concludes that means other than increasing the international network of tax treaties must be pursued if the goal to increase trade and investment to developing countries is to be achieved.
Tax Treaties for Investment and Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa
Title | Tax Treaties for Investment and Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa PDF eBook |
Author | Allison Christians |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 2018 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
Tax treaties are believed to increase cross-border trade and investment by reducing international tax burdens. The pursuit of tax treaties is therefore advanced as an integral component of U.S. foreign aid policy, which increasingly favors indirect assistance in the form of fostering trade and investment over traditional direct assistance in the form of donor funding. The importance of tax treaties is especially advanced in the context of U.S. relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty-related conditions are extreme and foreign trade and investment minimal. Yet despite many years of consistent promotion there are currently no tax treaties between the United States and the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. This article explains the apparent contradiction by presenting as a test case a hypothetical tax treaty between the U.S. and Ghana. The case study illustrates that in today's global commercial climate, traditional tax treaties provide few tax benefits to and indeed may negatively impact private investors. Consequently, the continuing absence of tax treaties can be explained by the lack of incentives for private investors to pressure the U.S. government to conclude these agreements. This article concludes that means other than increasing the international network of tax treaties must be pursued if the goal to increase trade and investment to developing countries is to be achieved.
Tax Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Title | Tax Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF eBook |
Author | Zmarak Shalizi |
Publisher | World Bank Publications |
Pages | 38 |
Release | 1988 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 9780821311653 |
Trade is an essential driver for sustained economic growth, and growth is necessary for poverty reduction. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where three-fourths of the poor live in rural areas, spurring growth and generating income and employment opportunities is critical for poverty reduction strategies. Seventy percent of the population lives in rural areas, where livelihoods are largely dependent on the production and export of raw agricultural commodities such as coffee, cocoa, and cotton, whose prices in real terms have been steadily declining over the past decades. The deterioration in the terms of trade resulted for Africa in a steady contraction of its share in global trade over the past 50 years. Diversification of agriculture into higher-value, non-traditional exports is seen today as a priority for most of these countries. Some African countries-in particular, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, CÔte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Zimbabwe-have managed to diversify their agricultural sector into non-traditional, high-value-added products such as cut flowers and plants, fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. To learn from these experiences and better assist other African countries in designing and implementing effective agricultural growth and diversification strategies, the World Bank has launched a comprehensive set of studies under the broad theme of "Agricultural Trade Facilitation and Non-Traditional Agricultural Export Development in Sub-Saharan Africa." This study provides an in-depth analysis of the current structure and dynamics of the European import market for flowers and fresh horticulture products. It aims to help client countries, industry stakeholders, and development partners to get a better understanding of these markets, and to assess the prospects and opportunities they offer for Sub-Saharan African exporters.
Tax Avoidance in Sub-Saharan Africa’s Mining Sector
Title | Tax Avoidance in Sub-Saharan Africa’s Mining Sector PDF eBook |
Author | Ms. Giorgia Albertin |
Publisher | International Monetary Fund |
Pages | 73 |
Release | 2021-09-28 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1513594362 |
This paper aims to contribute to the international policy debate around profit shifting, tax avoidance and SSA’s revenue mobilization efforts in three ways. First, it examines the importance of mining, the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs), and mining revenue outcomes in SSA. Second, it assesses the magnitude of profit shifting in mining drawing on new macro level research, supplemented by case studies to illustrate the lived experience of tax avoidance in SSA mining. Third, the paper identifies tax policy reforms that could boost revenue mobilization in SSA.
Corporate Income Taxes under Pressure
Title | Corporate Income Taxes under Pressure PDF eBook |
Author | Ruud A. de Mooij |
Publisher | International Monetary Fund |
Pages | 388 |
Release | 2021-02-26 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1513511777 |
The book describes the difficulties of the current international corporate income tax system. It starts by describing its origins and how changes, such as the development of multinational enterprises and digitalization have created fundamental problems, not foreseen at its inception. These include tax competition—as governments try to attract tax bases through low tax rates or incentives, and profit shifting, as companies avoid tax by reporting profits in jurisdictions with lower tax rates. The book then discusses solutions, including both evolutionary changes to the current system and fundamental reform options. It covers both reform efforts already under way, for example under the Inclusive Framework at the OECD, and potential radical reform ideas developed by academics.