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Developmment Finance Chapter-2
Developmment Finance Chapter-2
Chapter Outline
PUBLIC REVENUE
Sources of Public Income
Adam Smith’s Canon of Taxation
Features of Sound Taxation
The Benefit Principle of Taxation
Ability Principle of Taxation
Rate Schedules of Taxation
Direct and Indirect Taxes
Superiority of Indirect Taxes over Direct Taxes
Impact, Shifting and Incidence of Tax
1
Public Income
The income of the government through all sources is called
public income or public revenue.
According to Dalton, “Public Income” has two senses wide and
narrow.
In its wider sense it includes all the incomes or receipts which a
public authority may secure during any period of time.
In its narrow sense, however, it includes only those sources of
income of the public authority which are ordinarily known as
“revenue resources.”
To avoid ambiguity, thus, the former is termed public receipt
and the latter public revenue.
As such, receipts from public borrowings & from the sale of
public assets are mainly excluded from public revenue.
2
Cont’d
In a modern welfare state, public revenue is of two types, tax
revenue and non-tax revenue
a. Tax Revenue
A fund raised through the various taxes is referred to as tax
revenue.
Taxes are compulsory contributions imposed by the gov’t on its
citizens to meet its general expenses incurred for the common
good, without any direct benefits to the tax payer.
Seligman defines a tax thus:
A tax is a compulsory contribution from a person to the
government to defray the expenses incurred in the common
interest of all, without reference to specific benefits conferred.
3
Cont’d
b. Non-tax revenue
Public income received through the administration, commercial
enterprises, gifts & grants.
Administrative Revenues:
Under public administration, public authorities can raise some
funds in the form:
Fees-are charged by the government or public authorities for
rendering a service to the beneficiaries.
Court fees, passport fees, etc., fall under this category.
Similarly, license fees are charged to confer a permission for
something by the controlling authority, e.g., driving license fee,
import license fee, liquor permit fee, etc.
Fees are to be paid by those who receive some special
advantages. 4
Cont’d
Fines and penalties are levied & collected from offenders of laws
as punishment.
Here the main objective of these levies is to prevent the
commission of offences & infringement of laws.
They are arbitrarily determined and have no relation to the cost
of administration or activities of the government.
Hence, collections from such levies are insignificant
Special assessments:
sometimes when the government undertakes certain types of
public improvements such as construction of roads, provision of
drainage, street lighting etc., it may confer a special benefit to
those possessing properties nearby.
As a result, values of rents of these properties may rise.
5
Cont’d
Profits of State Enterprise
Profits of state undertakings also are an important source of
revenue these days, owing to the expansion of the public sector.
For instance, the central government runs railways.
Surplus from railway earnings can be normally contributed to
the revenue budget of the central budget.
Earnings from state enterprises depend upon the prices charged
by them for their goods & services & the surplus derived
therefrom.
Thus, the pricing policy of state undertakings should be self-
supporting & reasonably profit-oriented.
Many public enterprises like postal services run on cost-to-cost
basis.
6
Cont’d
Gifts and Grants
These form is generally a very small part of public revenue.
Quite often, patriotic people or institutions may make gifts to the
state.
These are purely voluntary contributions. Gifts have some
significance, especially during war time or an emergency.
In modern times, however, grants from one government to
another have a greater importance.
Local gov’ts receive grants from state gov’ts and state gov’ts
from the center.
Usually poor countries receive such aid from developed
countries in the form of military aid, economic aid, food aid,
technological aid
7
Classification of Public Income
D/t economists have classified the sources of public revenue
differently.
Seligman’s Classification (Gratuitous revenue, Contractual
revenue, Compulsory revenue)
i. Gratuitous revenue comprises all revenues such as gifts,
donations and grants received by the public authorities free of cost.
They are entirely of a voluntary nature.
ii. Contractual revenue includes all those types of revenue which
arise from the contractual relations between the public authority &
the people.
Fees & prices fall into this category. A direct quid pro quo is
usually present in these types of revenue.
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Classification of Public Income
iii. Compulsory revenue includes income derived by the state from
administration, justice, and taxation.
Taxes, fines and special assessments are regarded as compulsory
revenue.
These revenues express an element of state sovereignty. It is the
most significant type of public revenue in modern times.
Dalton’s Classifications
Dalton provides a very systematic, comprehensive & instructive
classification of public revenue.
In this opinion, there are two main sources of public revenue-
taxes and prices
Taxes are paid compulsorily whereas prices are paid voluntarily
by individuals, who enter into contracts with the public authority.
Thus, prices are contractual payments. 9
Classification of Public Income
Taylor’s Classification
The most logical and scientifically based classification of public
revenue is however provided by Taylor.
He divides public revenue into four categories:
Grants and gifts, Administrative revenues (fees, licenses, special
assessments), Commercial revenues (postal charges, tolls,
interest on loans of nationalized banks, tuition fees) & Taxes
10
The Ratio, Bouncy & Elasticity of Taxation
Reading Assignment
11
Taxation
Meaning of tax
A tax is a compulsory charge imposed by the gov’t without any
expectation of direct return in benefit.
It is a means of the gov’t in increasing its revenue under
authority of the law, purposely used to promote welfare &
protection of its citizenry.
Tax imposes a personal obligation on the people to pay the tax if
they are liable to pay it.
The public should be taxed according to their ability to pay, and
the people in the same financial position should be taxed in the
same way without any discrimination.
A good tax system should not affect the ability & willingness of
the people to work, save & invest.
12
Taxation
General characteristics of taxation
Tax is a Compulsory Contribution
Benefit is not the basic Condition
Personal Obligation
Common Interest
Legal Collection
Element of Sacrifice
Regular and Periodical Payment
No Discrimination
Wide Scope
13
Taxation
Objectives of taxation
To raise revenue for government expenditures
Stability of income & employment
Promoting economic growth
Reduce regional disparities
Equity and resource mobilization consideration
Enhancement of standard of living, capital accumulation,
Encouragement of exports, so on
14
Canon of Taxation
It is clear that tax is the major source of revenue to the gov’t.
According to Adam Smith, "a tax is a contribution from citizens
for the support of the government.”
No one likes taxes, but they are unavoidable in any civilized
society.
Whether we believe in big or small government, governments
must have some resources in order to perform their essential
services.
Taxation is an important instrument for the dev’t of economy of
the country.
A good tax system ensures maximum social advantage without
any hardship on taxpayers.
15
Canon of Taxation
While framing the tax policy, the gov’t should consider not only
its financial needs but also taxable capacity of the community.
Besides the above, gov’t has to consider some other principles
like equality, simplicity, convenience etc.
These principles are called as "Canons of Taxation".
The following are the important canons of taxation.
Canons Advocated by Adam Smith:
Equality, Certainty, Convenience & Economy
Canons Advocated by Others:
Productivity, Elasticity, Diversity, Simplicity, Expediency,
Coordination, Neutrality
16
Canon of Taxation
1. The Principle of Equity
Canon of equality, or ability is considered to be a very important
canon of taxation.
This do not mean that people should pay equal amount by way
of taxes to the government.
By equity is meant equality of sacrifice that is people should pay
taxes in proportion to their incomes.
This principle points to progressive taxation
It dictates that the given taxation system should be fair.
Two of the most important principles of tax equity are;
i. The benefit principle and
ii. The ability to pay principle.
17
Canon of Taxation
i. The benefit Principle
Benefit principle was accepted by the political theorists of the
17th century.
Taxation in those times was considered as a price for the services
rendered by the state.
According to this principle, the burden of' taxation should be
divided among the people in proportion to the benefits received
from the state.
The persons receiving equal benefits from the state should pay
equal amount as taxes and those who receive greater benefits
should pay more as taxes than those getting less benefits.
The benefit approach is, in fact, a combination of two principles:
The cost of service and the value of service principle.
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Canon of Taxation
Cost of service principles, the taxes should be divided in
proportion to the cost of services rendered by the state.
As per value of service principle, every individual should
contribute in proportion to the value of the services he has
received from the government.
In fact, both the principles come to the same conclusion.
This benefit principle approach has the following limitations:
It is very difficult to estimate the benefit that an individual
receives from the expenditure of the government. Therefore, the
burden of taxation may not be equitable. Hence, this theory may
be rejected.
If the basis of taxation is benefit, then the poor will have to pay
higher taxes than rich do because the poor derives greater
benefits than rich from the expenditure of the government.
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Canon of Taxation
Rich people have more capacity to pay taxes than poor do; but
according to this principle the per capita tax burden upon the
rich and the poor is the same. This means regressive taxation.
The principle is also not conducive to general welfare which
requires redistribution of income in favor of the poorer sections
through public welfare programs & services.
A general objection to the whole approach is that this principle is
not based on the concept of equity in' taxation.
20
Cont’d
ii. Ability to Pay Principle
Ability to pay is interpreted as the money income of the
taxpayer.
It is the most generally accepted theory.
According to this theory each person should contribute to the
income of the state in proportion of his ability to pay.
Ability is the "ideal ethical basis of taxation.
Every taxpayer should feel that he has made equal sacrifice in
the payment of tax.
The concept of ability to pay depends upon concept of equity in
taxation.
Equity implies justice tax payment.
When the taxpayer is required to pay tax according to his ability
to pay, it may be called equity in tax payment. 21
Canon of Taxation
Index of Ability to pay
The theory of ability to pay, however, involves the fundamental
problem, as to how to measure the ability to pay of a person.
There are two approaches which have so far been advanced:
In the objective approach, the faculty/power theory has been
evolved to measure ability to pay.
In the subjective approach, the sacrifice has been evolved to
measure ability to pay.
In view of the practical difficulties of sacrifice theories or
subjective approach people are used objective approach or
faculty/power approach.
Thus, the indices of ability to pay (objective approach) are as
follows:
22
Canon of Taxation
I. Property
Property in the form of land, buildings, gold, golden ornaments, etc., was a
measure of a man's financial ability.
A person with property has a better ability to pay a tax than a person having no or
very little property.
Thus it was argued that taxation should be imposed on the basis of the extent of
property possessed by the people.
Though property is an important source of income, yet, it cannot be considered as
the primary test of ability because:
1st, property is an important source of income, but not all property yields income.
2nd, the income from property is not continuous.
3rd, income from property may vary due to its nature, location, etc.
4th, property is taxed on its capital value, but if it does not yield income, the
taxation may be unjust.
Hence, property may not be regarded as a primary test of ability to pay. 23
Canon of Taxation
II. Income
Income is one of the most accepted indices of ability to pay.
Under this index, persons with higher incomes share a larger money
burden of tax and lower incomes are taxed at lower rates.
Only net income should be taxed. Gross income cannot be treated as
an index of ability to pay.
Secondly, it is necessary to classify income into –
i. earned income-Income earned from employment
ii. unearned income- income gained from source unrelated to
employment
Income earned from capital gains from sale of shares, security and
buildings etc., interest on savings and rent from immovable
property, gains from gambling, races, lottery, etc.
It is argued that unearned income should be taxed heavily, because it
discourages willingness to work. 24
Canon of Taxation
26
Canon of Taxation
27
Canon of Taxation
2. Canon of economy
This principle states that the minimum possible amount should
be spent on tax collection & the maximum part of the collection
should be brought to the government treasury.
3. Canon of certainty
According to Adam Smith, "the tax which each individual is
bound to pay ought to be certain and not arbitrary.
The time of payment, the manner of payment, the quantity to be
paid, should be clear and plain to the contributor.
4. canon of convenience
The mode and timings of tax payment should be, so far as
possible, convenient to the tax –payer.
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Canon of Taxation
5. Canon of productivity
The tax system should be productive enough
i.e. it should ensure sufficient revenue to the government and
It should encourage productive activity by encouraging the people to
work, save & invest.
6. canon of elasticity
The taxes should be flexible.
It should be levied in such a way to increase or decrease the tax revenue
depending upon the need.
7. canon of diversity
The burden of the tax should be distributed widely on the entire people
of the country.
The burden of the tax should be decentralized so that everyone should
pay according to his ability.
To achieve this, the Government should impose both direct and indirect
29
taxes of various types.
Canon of Taxation
8. Expediency canon
Tax should be levied after considering all favorable & unfavorable
factors from different angles such as economic, political and social.
9. Canon of simplicity
This principle states that the tax system should be simple, easy and
understandable to the common man.
If the tax system is complex & vague, the taxpayer cannot estimate his
tax liability & it will cause irregularities.
10. Canon of Co-ordination
There should be a proper co-ordination between different taxes imposed
by various authorities.
11. Canon of Neutrality
This principle stresses that the tax system should not have any adverse
effect.
That is, it should not create any deflationary or inflationary effects in the
economy. 30
Taxation systems based on principles of Equity
31
Taxation systems based on principles of Equity
i. Progressive taxation
A progressive tax is a tax that is larger as a percentage of income
for those with larger incomes.
It is usually applied in reference to income taxes, where people
with more income pay a higher percentage of it in taxes.
The term progressive refers to the way the rate progresses from
low to high.
The amount of tax payable is calculated by multiplying the tax
base with tax rate.
Progressive tax system- the rate of tax increases with the
increase in tax base.
32
Taxation systems based on principles of Equity
Advantages of Progressive tax system
Reducing the Inequalities of Income and Wealth
Economy- the cost of collection does not increase with the
increase in the rate of taxes.
Stabilizing the Economy-helpful in preventing the inflationary
trends in the economy as it reduces the disposable income &
purchasing power of the people.
On the contrary the opponents of progressive taxation system
provide the following arguments:
Ideal Progression is Impossible-it is difficult to frame an ideal
graduated progression in tax rates.
Discourage work, Savings & Investments
33
Taxation systems based on principles of Equity
ii. Proportional taxation
A proportional tax, also called a flat tax
It is a system that taxes all entities at the same rate, as
opposed to progressive scheme.
The term “flat tax” is one where the tax amount is fixed as
a function of income & is a term mainly used in the context
of income taxes.
They also argue that flat taxes are easier & cheaper to
administer & comply with than complex.
The opponents of a flat tax claim that it will benefit the rich
at the expense of the poor.
34
Taxation systems based on principles of Equity
iii. Regressive taxation
In regressive tax system, the amount of tax is smaller as a
percentage of income for people with larger incomes.
Regressive tax is a tax, which taxes a larger percentage of
income from people whose income is low.
It places more burdens on those with lower incomes.
The rate of tax declines with the increase in the income or
value of property in the system.
The tax rate decreases as the tax base increases.
As regressive taxes fall more heavily on the poor section of
the community, than on the richer section, it violates the
principles of equity and social justice.
35
Taxation systems based on principles of Equity
36
Taxation systems based on principles of Equity
37
Some other tax related issues
Impact, shifting and incidence of tax
The burden of a tax does not always lie on the person from
whom it is collected.
In many cases, it is borne by the other people also.
Thus, the person who initially pays the tax may not be actually
bearing its money burden as such.
Hence, it is necessary to know who bears the immediate burden
of tax and who bears the ultimate burden of tax.
According to the law, the tax is collected from a particular
individual or business unit, w/h has paid the tax in the first
instance & may transfer it to someone else.
If such a shifting of tax takes place, the original taxpayer has
served only as a collecting agent.
38
Some other tax related issues
a. Tax impact
The impact of a tax is on the person who pays the tax in first
instance.
In other words, the person who pays the tax to the government
in the first instance bears its impact.
It refers to the immediate burden of the tax and not to the
ultimate burden of the tax.
b. Tax incidence
Incidence of a tax means the final or ultimate resting place of the
burden of the tax payment.
That is, the location of the ultimate tax burden.
The incidence of a tax is different from its impact, which refers
to the point of original assessment.
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Some other tax related issues
If an individual who pays the tax in the first instance finds that
he cannot shift the burden of the tax to anybody else, then the
incidence as well as the impact is on the same person.
If the original taxpayer is able to transfer the tax burden to
someone else, then the shifting of tax will be taken place.
For example, the Government levies a tax say, excise duty on
cement and collects the tax from the manufacturer of cement.
Now, the impact of the tax is on the manufacturer.
If he is able to pass on the money burden of the tax to the
wholesaler by means of raising the price, then the manufacturer
has shifted the tax to the wholesaler.
This process continues and ultimately the consumer bears the
money burden of the tax.
Hence, the incidence is on the final consumer. 40
Some other tax related issues
The main issue in the economic analysis of any tax is the
identification of the individual or group of individuals on whom
the burden of the tax rests.
This is the incidence of the tax.
There are two concepts of tax incidence. They are:
Legal Incidence:
The individual or group of individuals who have the legal
responsibility for paying the tax to the government bears the
legal incidence of the tax.
Economic incidence
The individual or group of individuals, whose real income,
welfare or utility is reduced by the tax, bears the economic
incidence.
41
Some other tax related issues
The economic incidence is independent of the legal incidence;
that is, who bear the legal incidence may be d/t from those who
bear the economic incidence.
When the economic incidence differs from the legal incidence,
the burden of the tax is said to be “Shifted”.
The effects of a tax on the allocation of resources & on the
distribution of income depend on the economic incidence, not
the legal incidence.
c. Shifting
It refers to the process by which the money burden of a tax is
transferred from one person to another.
Whenever there is a shifting of taxation, the tax may be shifted
either forward or backward.
42
Some other tax related issues
A producer, upon whom a tax has been imposed, may shift the
tax burden to the consumer or to the factors of production.
If the producer shifts the tax burden to the consumer, it is known
as “Forward Shifting.”
On the other hand, if the producer shifts the tax burden to the
factors of production i.e. to the suppliers of raw materials etc., it
is known as “Backward Shifting.”
43
Some other tax related issues
Tax evasion, Avoidance and planning
a. Tax evasion
it is ‘the violation of tax laws’ and it involves a fraudulent or
deceitful effort by tax payers not to pay tax in a legal way.
Some common ways of tax evasion are;
keeping three sets of books (cooking the books),
Overstatement of expense,
Understatement of revenues,
Cancelling documents/evidences or
Any other attempts not to pay tax partially or to eliminate the
whole tax liabilities
44
Some other tax related issues
b. Tax Avoidance/planning
It is legal ways of escaping from the tax payments usually by
exploiting ambiguity in the tax laws.
It is termed as legal ways of refusing tax and usually named tax
planning.
45
Classification of taxes
A. Direct taxes
A direct tax is paid by a person on whom it is levied.
The impact and incidence fall on the same person.
It is borne by the person on whom it is levied & cannot be
passed on to others.
For example, when a person is assessed to income tax, he has to
pay it & he cannot shift the tax burden to anybody else.
In Ethiopia, gov’t levies the direct taxes such as income tax, tax
on agricultural income, professional tax, land revenues, taxes on
stamps & registrations etc.
From the above, it can be understood that the direct taxes levied
in Ethiopia take the form of taxes on income and property.
46
Classification of taxes
Merits of direct taxes
i. Ensures principle of ability to pay
They fall more heavily on the rich than on the poor.
The tax burden is distributed on d/t sections of the society in a
just & equitable manner.
ii. Reduces the Social & Economic Inequalities
By adopting the progressive tax system, rich people pay on
higher rates of taxation, while the poor pay on lower rates.
iii. Certainty
In direct taxes, the time of payment, mode of payment, the
amount to be paid etc. are made clear.
iv. Economy
The taxpayers pay the amount of tax directly to the government.
47
Classification of taxes
iv. Elasticity
Direct taxes are elastic in nature.
Example: when the income of the people increases, the tax
revenue also increases.
v. Educative Effect
Since the taxpayers feel the burden of tax directly, they are
interested in seeing that the Government properly spends
the money.
vi. Control the Effects of Trade Cycles
It can be used as a tool to mitigate the effects of inflationary
& deflationary trends by raising or reducing the tax rates.
48
Classification of taxes
Limitations of direct tax
i. Difficulties in the Formulation of Progressive Tax Rates
It is very difficult to formulate the ideal progressive rate
schedules in this regard, since there is no scientific base.
ii. Inconvenience
Most often, direct taxes have to be paid in lump sum & at
times, advance payment of tax has to be made.
This causes much inconvenience to the taxpayers.
iii. Possibility of tax evasion
iv. Disincentive to Work, Save, and Invest
When the taxpayer earns certain level, they have to pay
more, because of the higher rate of taxes attributed to the
higher slabs. 49
Classification of taxes
Indirect taxes
Under indirect taxes, the impact & incidence fall on
different persons.
It is not borne by the person on whom it is levied & can be
passed on to others.
For example, when the excise duty is levied on the
manufacturer of cement, it shifts the burden of tax to the
consumers by raising the selling price.
Here the impact of excise duty falls on the manufacturer &
the incidence on the ultimate consumers.
The person who is required to pay the tax does not bear its
burden.
Thus, indirect taxes can be shifted. 50
Classification of taxes
Merits of Indirect taxes
a. Convenience
Indirect taxes are more convenient to the taxpayers.
Since the tax is included in the selling price of the commodities,
the consumer pays the tax during purchases
Thus, indirect taxes are quite convenient & less burdensome.
b. wide scope
Indirect taxes are paid by all both poor and rich.
Under indirect taxes, everybody pays according to their ability.
c. Tax Evasion is relatively impossible
Indirect taxes are included in the selling price of the commodities.
So, evading of such tax becomes very difficult.
If the person wants to evade the tax, it can be done only by
refraining from the consumption of the particular commodity. 51
Classification of taxes
d. Substantial Revenue
The developing countries like Ethiopia are heavily dependent on
indirect taxes.
Direct taxes have a limited scope in these countries because of
low per capita income.
e. Effective Allocation of Resources
It can be made effective by imposing heavy excise duties on low
priority goods & by granting industries producing high priority
goods.
This results into mobilization of resources from one sector to
another positively.
f. Discourages the consumption of injurious to health
By imposing very high rates of taxes on commodities like
liquors, drugs, cigarettes etc., w/h are harmful to health, their
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consumption can be reduced.
Cont’d
Limitations of Indirect Taxes
i. Ability to Pay Principle is violated
Indirect taxes are not directly connected to the taxpayers' ability to
pay.
Therefore, both the rich and poor equally pay the tax.
ii. Uncertainty
The quantity demanded will be affected by the imposition of the
taxes.
Thus, the revenue generated from them is uncertain.
iii. Discourages Saving
The people have to spend more on the purchase of the goods.
iv. Civic consciousness is not created
Under indirect taxes, taxpayers do not feel the burden of the tax.
v. Inflationary
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The indirect taxes cause an increase in the price all around.
Exemptions, Deductions, and Credits
There are three ways in which taxes can legally be reduced:
Exemptions, Deductions and Credits.
a. Tax exemption is a provision in the tax law that makes a specific
class of tax payers or specific type of activity that would normally
be taxable exempt from the tax.
b. Tax deductions are subtractions from the normal tax base that are
permitted for specific purposes defined in the tax law.
For example, a depreciation expense or any other business
expenses may be allowed to be deducted.
c. Tax credits on the other hand are a reduction in the amount of tax
owed/liability.
For example, the company may claim tax credit for VAT paid on
input in the excess of VAT collected from the customers.
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Thank You!!
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