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This paper aims to examine the indirect tax reform process in China. Specifically, it examines the reform of business tax to value-added tax. Inefficiencies within the new tax system are identified and discussed. The “business tax to value-added tax” reform was seen as an essential element in promoting the economic transition and stimulating the service industries (Jin and Jin, 2013).

The paper uses archival and current literature. In undertaking the study, the different periods of indirect tax are examined, prior to 1994, 1994-2012, the changes from 2012 culminating in the new 2017 regime. Attributes of “good” value-added tax (VAT) systems are covered as well as a comparison with New Zealand’s goods and services tax (GST).

The paper finds that to align with the international trend of indirect tax development and more efficiently accomplish the economic transition China needs to build a more neutral VAT system with fewer reduced rates and exemptions and the tax system have created tax inefficiencies and increased the compliance cost. VAT is imposing an increasingly significant impact on China’s national economy and industrial structure as well as accountants.

This is the first study that analyses the indirect tax reforms that are currently being implemented in China and as such has lessons for China but also for VAT/GST in general. We should not forget how special New Zealand’s GST is and the clarity of focus of those who implemented it!

The Government of Namibia has traditionally used fiscal (especially tax) policy as an instrument for annual budget formulation. Marginal tax rates for profits and various income brackets have been changed back and forth in response to changes in economic conditions. However, to date, no attempt has been made to evaluate the effectiveness of these reforms in achieving the broad national economic goals, in general, and the potential effects on government revenue in the short, medium and long-run periods, in particular. The purpose of this paper is to fill this information gap by analysing the implication of the 2008 zero-rating of value added tax (VAT) on basic commodities for aggregate demand and government revenue.

The study uses an analytical framework based on economic theory which posits that in an open economy, which trades with the rest of the world, aggregate demand for goods and services is made up of consumption demand, investment demand, government demand and net exports and that real sector equilibrium is attained when aggregate supply of goods and services is equal to aggregate demand for goods and services.

Using the Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey results, the annual loss in government revenue attributable to this policy is, ceteris paribus, estimated to be N$310.4 million. With a marginal propensity to consume out of disposable income of 0.89, total expenditure by households on goods and services is likely to increase by N$276.3 million per annum. In the medium-to-long-run, national income will have increased by N$303.9 million per annum. Taxes which are responsive to changes in the level of national income will have increased by N$85.7 million, compensating for just over one quarter of the estimated loss in government revenue of N$310.4 million.

The study has used a partial equilibrium model as opposed to computable general equilibrium model, which provides a consistent framework that meets most of the sectoral and institutional data requirements for the simple reason that a social accounting matrix which can be used readily to connect data from different sources, such as national accounts and household surveys and would thus have been ideal model for analysing the impacts of the VAT tax reform has not been developed for Namibia.

The paper provides a number of practical policy options available for government including, but not limited to, increasing direct taxes, VAT rate on specific (luxury) goods and services and statutory VAT rate on all other commodities not zero-rated, other taxes such as taxes; and borrowing from external sources.

It is established that zero-rating VAT on all the basic commodities in 2008 reduces the VAT paid by all Namibian households by N$310.4 million per year, which represents the annual increase in the disposable income of all households. And with a marginal propensity to consume out of disposable income of 0.89, total expenditure by households on goods and services will increase by N$276.3 million per year.

This paper presents the first attempt at evaluating the effectiveness of tax (VAT) policy reforms in Namibia in achieving the broad national economic goals, in general, and the potential effects on government revenue in the short, medium and long-run periods, in particular.

Following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Singapore on 1 April 1994, examines the problems and changes which building contractors in the construction industry have made to accommodate the implementation of this tax. Highlights how construction companies implement GST. Proposes a framework for construction companies to account for the tax. Argues this framework will be useful for public administrators in other countries when implementing or changing the rates of their own GST or Value Added Tax (VAT) for the construction industry. Concludes that the hypothesis formulated for this study, namely that the “larger construction companies in Singapore spent more time and effort in preparing for the implementation of GST than smaller construction companies”, appears to be true.

This paper reports on a research study of value‐added tax (VAT) that applies to new residential properties developed by developers who are registered for VAT purposes. The objective of the research was to compare the current VAT provisions relating to new housing in South Africa with those of the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Similarities and differences were determined and discussed. It was ascertained that the selected countries all have special rebates or concessions regarding new housing, whereas South Africa has none.

The purpose of the current study is to examine the implications of the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST) on the revenue efficiency of the sub-national governments in India. Furthermore, the study aims to compare the revenue efficiency of the Indian states for the pre-GST and post-GST periods in India.

The study has used the annual revenue of value-added tax (VAT)/GST of the Indian states for the period ranging from 2012–2013 to 2020–2021 for the pre- and post-GST periods. The empirical results are based on the panel regression model for examining the implications of GST adoption on the Indian states.

The analysis shows that the implementation of GST in India has negatively impacted the revenue efficiency of the Indian states. Moreover, the results affirm that the contribution of the service sector to the state's Net State Domestic Product (NSDP), credit-deposit ratio (CDR) and outstanding net bank credit (ONBC) ratio of schedule commercial banks (SCBs) positively and states' dependency on central transfers (DCT) negatively impact the tax revenue efforts of the state governments. Furthermore, the GST adoption has a greater impact on the revenue efficiency of the minor states in comparison to major states which may widen the inter-state disparity gap as GST revenue constitutes a major share in the Own Tax Revenue (OTR) of the Indian states in aggregate.

The current study will act as a guide for government, policymakers and for the sitting of the fifteenth finance commission in India for future policy formulation on GST and compensation to the Indian states. Similarly, this study can be used as a base for conducting future studies on the implications of GST at the national, sub-national, and international levels.

Previous studies on the implications of GST are theoretical and conceptual. There is hardly any study at the national or sub-national level that has focused on the implications of GST on the revenue efficiency of the Indian states.

This paper aims to examine the relationships between disaggregated government fiscal policy variables; private capital investment and economic growth in Ghana, as well as the similarities and differences in the impact of these variables on private investment (PI) and economic growth.

Cointegration and an error‐correction models are used, with time series properties of the variables investigate using augmented Dickey‐Fuller test and cointegration of the variables tested using Engel‐Granger two step procedure.

The findings indicate that changes in government recurrent expenditure, current government capital expenditure and international trade taxes are significant for growth while changes in tax on domestic goods and services, tax on international trade and tax on income and property matter for private capital investment. The major difference between the impact of fiscal policy on PI and economic growth, however, lies in the direction of impact.

Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that different policies be pursued in the promotion of PI and economic growth. Also, given the low correlation between PI and economic growth, it is recommended that the Ghanaian private sector be focused on and fully developed in order for it to perform its role as an engine of growth.

Growth has been shown to be influenced by government expenditure and international trade taxes while private capital investment is influenced by taxes on domestic goods and services, international trade and on income and property. Fiscal policy authorities will find these useful.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation in Malaysia had raised various responses from many parties involved when the new tax was introduced in 2015 until its abolishment in 2018. GST complexity has been stated as part of the reasons for its resistance and abolishment. The purpose of this paper is to identify causes of GST complexities during its implementation in Malaysia.

This paper draws on causes of tax complexity from previous studies and conducted semi-structured interviews with tax experts. The respondents comprised of subject matter experts in GST and the findings are based on their numerous years of experiences handling clients with diverse backgrounds.

Findings from this study are categorised into legal complexity and declarative complexities. Almost all the causes of complexities from prior studies were encountered by Malaysian businesses. This study concluded that the most likely reasons for the abolishment of GST in Malaysia are: numerous rules and exception to the rules (e.g. 35 tax codes, gifts rules, 21-day rules), frequent changes of GST rulings and guidelines, GST computations that were too difficult for mixed supply and process of GST refund that were onerous and lengthy.

Limitations of this paper include reliance on the respondents’ ability to accurately and honestly recall details of their experiences, circumstances, thoughts or behaviours that are being asked.

Despite the abolishment of the GST in Malaysia, it is pertinent to identify the causes of GST complexities that can be learnt by the relevant authorities. Measures can be formulated to mitigate the identified GST complexities to ensure high compliance among businesses with other existing taxes or new taxes (if any) to be introduced in the future. This includes addressing the competency of RMCD officers and businesses on the rules and regulations, minimal rules and exception to the rules, a simplified GST computations for mixed supply and a systematic refund process.

The research method used is a flexible and powerful tool to capture the voices and the ways respondents make meaning of their experience dealing with the GST matters. The findings reveal a deep understanding of the issues from the views of the experts in the field.

The objective of this chapter is to compare the measurement bases of income and expenditures found in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) used in Public Accounts with those in the statistical rules used in National Accounts/Government Finance Statistics (GFS). Both frameworks apply an accrual methodology, but, while some governments appear dubious about adopting the IPSAS framework, the National Accounts framework is more ‘tried and tested’ for government financial reporting on an international scale. The practical application of the accrual methodology in the two frameworks differs to a certain extent. These differences provide learning opportunities for both frameworks.

The purpose of this paper is to present the perception of the textile industry stakeholders (manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers and tax professionals) on India’s new goods and services tax (GST) system and find whether the introduction of GST has made doing business easier or not.

The researchers used interviews and surveys to capture the perceptions of the textile industry stakeholders at Surat, a major textile hub in India. To econometrically verify the perceptions, the researchers used a logit regression model.

The researchers found that the provision of monthly tax filing has increased textile businesses’ dependency on tax professionals, which increased business costs. Also, the GST system has made tax compliance easier and is user-friendly. However, tax refund-related issues are a significant factor that negatively impacts the ease of doing business post-GST.

The findings of the research shall be helpful for the GST Council of India and policymakers to understand the problems faced by the textile businesses and cater to their problems.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is original as none of the available studies captures the perception of all the textile industry stakeholders, namely, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers and tax professionals, on the GST system applying econometric techniques to validate the perceptions.