When do developing countries negotiate away their corporate tax base?

Hearson, Martin (2018) When do developing countries negotiate away their corporate tax base? Journal of International Development, 30 (2). pp. 233-255. ISSN 0954-1748

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Abstract

Developing countries have concluded thousands of bilateral tax treaties, which restrict their ‘taxing rights’ over international investment. Qualitative case studies of these negotiation outcomes emphasize power politics, knowledge asymmetries and negotiating capability in the eventual distribution of taxing rights between signatories, yet such insights are absent from cross‐country quantitative work. This paper bridges the gap by replicating two quantitative studies, introducing new data on countries' ability to mobilize tax revenue and the outcomes of tax treaty negotiations. It provides statistical support for the insights from qualitative research. The size of a government's revenue base, and its reliance on corporate tax, might affect the salience of the revenue sacrifice in policy makers' minds. These variables influence the likelihood of signing a tax treaty and the particular concessions made. Power asymmetries between signatories lead to more unequal distributions of taxing rights away from developing countries, in contrast to the findings of earlier studies. Developing countries also become better negotiators as they gain experience.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10991328
Additional Information:	© 2018 UNU‐WIDER
Divisions:	International Relations
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance J Political Science > JZ International relations
JEL classification:	F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations and International Political Economy > F53 - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H25 - Business Taxes and Subsidies K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law > K34 - Tax Law O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy > O23 - Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Development
Date Deposited:	03 May 2018 15:47
Last Modified:	15 Apr 2024 14:33
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/87762

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