The political economy of taxation in Latin America / edited by Gustavo Flores-Macias.

"Paying taxes is one of the least popular activities worldwide. Latin America in particular is notorious for having low direct taxes, weak compliance and enforcement, and high levels of inequality. Although fiscal extraction has gained renewed interest among governments in recent years, with the end of the commodity boom adding special urgency, the successful adoption and implementation of tax reforms is easier said than done, even when tax policy prescriptions are widely shared. This volume provides the first comprehensive, region-wide assessment of the role of political factors, including public opinion, democratic institutions, natural resources, interest groups, political ideology, and state capacity. What explains the region's low levels of taxation? What explains the low progressivity in its tax structure? And what explains considerable differences across countries? In addressing these questions, each of the volume's chapters makes original theoretical and empirical contributions toward understanding how to overcome the political challenges to taxation"-- Provided by publisher

"This book was born out of an effort to inform tax policy. It responds to the concern that the bulk of existing scholarship on the topic has focused on the design of the appropriate tax policies, but has neglected the political considerations that promote or hinder those policies. A central motivation for the project was the firm belief that the best economic reforms are doomed to failure in the absence of the right political conditions to adopt them and sustain them over time. Although its focus is on Latin America, the volume seeks to inform our understanding of common political challenges beyond the region. This endeavor benefited from the generosity of several centers around Cornell. The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and the Institute for the Social Sciences contributed funds to hold in Ithaca the seminal conference on taxation that paved the way for this volume. The Latin American Studies Program provided support for the logistics of the conference. The Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies at Princeton University provided a rich intellectual environment to work on the volume during my time as the 2017-18 Democracy and Development Fellow"-- Provided by publisher

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Cover; Half-title page; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; List of Figures; List of Tables; List of Contributors; Acknowledgments; 1 Introduction: The Political Economy of Taxation in Latin America; 2 The Political Economy of Oil Taxation in Latin America: Policy Volatility and Untapped Potential; 3 Economic Growth and Tax Compliance in Latin America: Did the "Good Times" Help to Reduce Tax Evasion?; 4 Once Bitten, Twice Shy: Path Dependence, Power Resources, and the Magnitude of the Tax Burden in Latin America; 5 Federalism and Taxation: Periods of Brazilian International Insertion

6 Particularistic Political Institutions and Tax Neutrality in Latin America7 Taxing Latin America's Economic Elites; 8 Weak Liberalism and Weak Property Taxation in Latin America; 9 Preferences for Redistribution and Tax Burdens in Latin America; 10 Conclusion: Addressing Taxation's Political Challenges; Index

Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on August 07, 2019).

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