Tax Performance: A Comparative Study

This paper seeks to analyse tax performance across countries, utilizing what Musgrave ([1969]) referred to as the stochastic approach, where tax performance is analysed by comparisons with the average performance. The regression approach to tax performance assessment is used and a tax effort index is constructed. Among the variables that are identified to be important determinants of tax shares is a measure of tax evasion. The tax effort indices obtained show that generally the upper middle-income and high-income OECD groups are making better use of their tax bases to increase revenue. There are also economies of scale with respect to population density.