Rural Tax Research Articles

Structural tax reform and local government non-tax revenues – evidence from rural tax reform of China

ABSTRACT Taking rural tax reform as an exogenous shock and exploiting county data from 2001 to 2007, this research investigates the impact of structural tax reform on local governments’ non-tax revenues with a difference-in-difference method. The result shows that structural tax reform has a significant positive impact on local governments’ non-tax revenue. This impact can primarily be attributed to changes in the tax–sharing ratio and the adoption of setting revenue by expenditure. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the policy effects of rural tax reform vary in the transfer payment from the central government, the scale of local governments, and the degree of regional legalization. Further study demonstrates that, as measured by per capita fiscal revenue, the local fiscal burden grows rather than reduces due to rural tax reform, reiterating the presence of ‘Huang Zongxi’s Law’ in industrialized societies. Finally, we provide policy recommendations for enhancing regional legalization, strengthening official promotion channels, transforming government functions, and optimizing government macro-control functions.

Rural Depopulation and Empty Rural Houses in Bhutan: How Different Stakeholders Interpret the Local Term Gungtong

Internal migration has played a significant role in shifting the population from rural to urban areas worldwide. In Bhutan, rural depopulation is mostly concentrated in the country's eastern and some central parts, and is changing the rural landscape, economy, and society. In discussing rural population change, the term Gungtong is widely used in the Bhutanese media and public discourses. The literal translation of Gungtong is an empty registered house. However, Gungtong is often interpreted differently in the absence of a clear legal definition. Therefore, the primary objective of this article is to explore the various interpretations of the term Gungtong and understand its meaning. To explore this, 40 semistructured interviews with Bhutanese officials and rural residents were conducted. The study highlights that the Gungtong data gathered annually by the government are based on the administrative complexity of rural taxation policy rather than the actual departure of people from rural areas and empty houses. However, the conversation around Gungtong relates to the globally recognized issue of rural depopulation. Thus, there are discrepancies within the official dataset and between the dataset and the general understanding of the issues and implications of Gungtong. Developing a clear understanding of the term Gungtong and restructuring the data collection of empty houses will help answer some critical questions on the impact of rural depopulation in farming and the rural economy, considering Bhutan's aspiration to be food self-sufficient.

Taxation and Migration of Peasants: Evidence from the Tax-for-Fee Reform in Rural China

This paper studies the effect of rural taxation on Chinese peasants’ mobility towards urban areas. We find that the tax alleviation due to the tax-for-fee reform significantly reduces rural-to-urban migration, with a 10% decline in tax leading to a 10% reduction in migration. We provide compelling evidence that the result is not driven by unintended policy effects of the tax-for-fee reform in fostering rural non-agricultural job opportunities. The effect of taxation is more pronounced and precisely estimated on migration across provinces or at older ages. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to identify the tax-induced migration among low-skilled and low-income laborers.

Research on Tax Collection and Administration Application and Legal Issues Based on Big Data Analysis

In the twenty-first century, in the era of rapid development of big data, people can make some basic problem analysis of the application of tax collection and administration and legal problems through big data. Between taxpayers and the tax collection and management system, the law is used to protect the legitimate rights and interests of taxpayers. Through the improvement and management of the supervision system, it can ensure that taxpayers can clearly know how much tax they should pay when paying taxes. At present, the urgent problem is to adjust the concept of tax, reconstruct the scope of tax, scientifically design the tax rate, and simplify the tax collection and administration procedures. This paper puts forward a more efficient tax process by comparing the tax data, the econometric study of tax, and the secret tax avoidance while the burden of the more poor rural tax class. Through the experiment proved, this paper studies the best tax collection and management mode, so that taxpayers can pay taxes more convenient and fast. The tax collection and administration system have been improved to make taxpayers’ information more comprehensive, which is very important for us to improve the efficiency in the twenty-first century, which is also a great breakthrough in the application of tax collection and administration. Due to the limitations of incomplete information, or that the information cannot keep up with the times, the tax collection and management system cannot completely correspond to the complete information of the correct taxpayers. Therefore, for the study of the taxation supervision system, it is necessary to use more algorithms in a more comprehensive way, so as to reduce the number of tax evaders and the number of active taxpayers.

Pengelolaan piutang pajak bumi dan bangunan perdesaan dan perkotaan pasca peralihan di Kabupaten Katingan

The government has transferred the Rural and Urban Land and Building Tax from the central tax to a regional tax to provide additional sources of income for regional development, however, after the transition, there was an increase in PBB-P2 receivables. This study aims to analyze the management of PBB-P2 receivables, analyze factors affecting highly PBB-P2 receivables and analyze the efforts of Katingan Regency Government to reduce PBB-P2 receivables. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research method with an inductive approach. Data collection techniques through interviews and documentation. Sampling was done by purposive sampling method with 11 informants. This study concludes that the management of PBB-P2 receivables in Katingan Regency has not been carried out properly. The increase in PBB-P2 receivables in Katingan Regency is due to the lack of updating of tax subject and object data, lack of competence of tax management apparatus, lack of socialization for the community, and low public awareness of paying taxes. Various efforts have been made by BPKAD Katingan Regency, namely making PBB-P2 data collection applications, not printing Tax Returns Payable for people who have receivables, and collecting taxpayers who are no longer domiciled in Katingan Regency.

Taxation aiming environmental protection: The case of Brazilian Rural Land Tax

Ensuring the protection of natural vegetation is a complex challenge that demands a mix of policies. In Brazil, conservation on private land relies on large-scale command-and-control instruments and a few Payments for Ecosystem Services schemes, with taxation playing a minimal role for conservation. The Rural Land Tax (Imposto Territorial Rural, ITR) is a long-established rural tax created to stimulate pasture productivity and promoting social, agricultural, and environmental benefits. Despite the potential for environmental protection, several problems lead to low achievement of ITR's goals. Such problems include low revenue, the difficulty in inspecting declarations, obsolete productivity criteria, and intrinsic environmental distortions. In this work, we analyze current ITR and show that distortions can potentially occur even for properties that adopt deforestation in the Amazon. We also built a spatially explicit model that estimate tax revenue at a property level under different scenarios. Then, we simulate two scenarios: the first corresponds to the existing Law, and the second, to a legal revision we propose to overcome some of its current problems. We found that total tax collection under the current Law should be BRL 5.75 bi per year, almost four times the actual value collected in 2017 (BRL 1.5 bi). The results suggest that the low achievement of goals follows from a large group paying meager tax rates and another group being overpenalized. Results for the proposed revision highlight its inherent potential to address ITR's central challenges, and for a given set of parameters, the revenue under the new formulation could rise to BRL 16.8 bi per year. Our results provide a concrete and science-based alternative for ITR. The application of the proposals of revision we suggest could promote additional environmental protection, consequently strengthening the role of taxation as an instrument for the maintenance of natural vegetation in Brazil.

Open access renewable resources, urban unemployment, and the resolution of dual institutional failures

AbstractThis paper investigates how poverty reduction and natural resource preservation can be simultaneously achieved in a small open dual economy with urban wage rigidity, open access rural resources, and rural-urban migration. An increase in the export tax rate on the rural resource good increases urban unemployment in both the short run and the long run with resource dynamics. Given the institutional failures, the first-best policy is an urban wage subsidy combined with either a rural wage subsidy at alowerrate or, if the urban output price is sufficiently high, a ruraltax. When the institutional failures can be resolved endogenously, an increase in the export tax on the resource good can induce rural institutional change away from open access. However, tariff protection of urban manufacturing hinders such a rural institutional change.

The rural tax: comprehensive out-of-pocket costs associated with patient travel in British Columbia

BackgroundA significant concern for rural patients is the cost of travel outside of their community for specialist and diagnostic care. Often, these costs are transferred to patients and their families, who also experience stress associated with traveling for care. We sought to examine the rural patient experience by (1) estimating and categorizing the various out of pocket costs associated with traveling for healthcare and (2) describing and measuring patient stress and other experiences associated with traveling to seek care, specifically in relation to household income.MethodsWe have designed and administered an online, retrospective, cross-sectional survey seeking to estimate the out-of-pocket (OOP) costs and personal experiences of rural patients associated with traveling to access health care in British Columbia. Respondents were surveyed across five categories: Distance Traveled and Transportation Costs, Accommodation Costs, Co-Traveler Costs, Lost Wages, and Patient Stress. Bivariate relationships between respondent household income and other numerical findings were investigated using one-way ANOVA.ResultsOn average, costs for respondents were $856 and $674 for transport and accommodation, respectively. Strong relationships were found to exist between the distance traveled and total transport costs, as well as between a patient’s stress and their household income. Patient perspectives obtained from this survey expressed several related issues, including the physical and psychosocial impacts of travel as well as delayed or diminished care seeking.ConclusionsThese key findings highlight the existing inequities between rural and urban patient access to health care and how these inequities are exacerbated by a patient’s overall travel-distance and financial status. This study can directly inform policy related efforts towards mitigating the rural-urban gap in access to health care.

The Effects of Homestead Exemptions for Seniors and Disabled People on School Districts

Homestead exemptions for senior and disabled homeowners disproportionally erode rural tax bases but may still stimulate local educational spending. This article examines one such exemption in Kentucky. Two-stage generalized method of moments is used to estimate the demand for local education spending, then spending in the absence of the exemption is simulated to estimate effects on school district expenditure and academic performance. We combine Census and National Center of Education Statistics data with detailed exemption and academic performance data from Kentucky’s Departments of Revenue and Education into a panel spanning 1999–2013. Results suggest the exemption provides relatively generous tax relief without increasing resource and academic achievement gaps between rural and nonrural districts. This is largely attributable to Kentucky’s strong school finance equalization effort. Our findings can help states with a similarly targeted exemption consider such impacts in relation to their own demography and funding systems.

Forcing the Wealthy to Pay Their Fair Share? The Politics of Rural Taxes in 17th-Century Ottoman Damascus

AbstractFocusing on the province of Damascus, this study shows that individuals of the ʿaskarī class were obligated to pay village taxes in proportion to the amount of property they owned, and that it was the village cultivators who had the primary authority for individuating and collecting these taxes. Providing a detailed picture of the relations between the ʿaskarī class and peasant communities before the rise of the a’yān in the eighteenth century, the study explores how peasants sought to enforce their decisions on these powerful individuals and to what extent they were successful in doing so.

Pengaruh PBB, Pajak Restoran Dan Pajak Hiburan Terhadap Paddki Jakarta 2014-2016

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Rural and Urban Land and Building Taxes, restaurant tax and entertainment tax on DKI Jakarta Regional Revenue in 2014-2016. The sampling technique uses purposive sampling. The sample of this study is 43 sub-districts of DKI Jakarta which are spread in 5 municipalities that representing DKI Jakarta and also representing all taxpayers who contributed to got those Regional Original Income (PAD). This study uses logistic regression analysis using the SPSS version 25 statistical program. The results obtained through the study state that Rural and Urban Land and Building Taxes, restaurant taxes and entertainment taxes have a significant effect on DKI Jakarta Regional Revenue (PAD) in 2014-2016. However, the entertainment tax has a significant negative effect on DKI Jakarta PAD

POTENTIAL LOSS OF PBB-P2 REVENUE AS REGIONAL TAX IN SAMBAS REGENCY

<p><em>This study aims to identify the potential loss in the receipt of Rural and Urban Land and Building Taxes (PBB-P2) as Regional Taxes in Sambas Regency. This research uses descriptive method by describing events in the field using survey methods and questionnaires which will then be processed using the SWOT method. The data used in this study consisted of two data.</em></p><p><em>Based on the results of interviews on questionnaires given to sample taxpayers to find out the reasons and factors that caused taxpayers to take tax evasion actions, it was found that there were the taxpayers do not know / do not understand, not very important about PBB-P2. In an effort to minimize the level of potential loss various efforts made by the government at that time both those that have been carried out and those that will be carried out in the future. There are several relevant strategies to be implemented in an effort to optimize PBB-P2 revenues as local taxes in Sambas Regency, among others: Utilizing regional autonomy policies to implement regional regulations more firmly (law enforcement); Repairing and completing facilities and infrastructure facilities to support regional revenue management, especially supporting facilities for increasing PBB-P2 revenues; Providing incentives for PBB-P2 collection so that officers get additional motivation in an effort to optimize PBB-P2 revenues; Utilizing the willingness and awareness of taxpayers to pay taxes in order to increase PBB-P2 revenues by implementing programs and activities well and orderly. Responding to the enactment of Law No. 28 of 2009 with initiative and creativity in the management of PBB-P2 which in the end was able to increase regional Original Revenue (PAD) towards regional financial independence.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em>JEL Classification: </em></strong><em>H20,<strong> </strong>H21, H24</em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><em>Fiscal,</em><em> </em><em>Potential Loss, Revenue</em></p>

Evaluasi Kinerja Badan Pendapatan Daerah Kota Denpasar Dalam Pemungutan Pajak Bumi Dan Bangunan Perdesaan Perkotaan

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance of the Denpasar City Revenue Agency in collecting Rural and Urban Land and Building Taxes. This study uses secondary data with data analysis used in this study is a comparative descriptive analysis related to value for money. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be seen that the performance of the Denpasar City Revenue Agency from the economic aspect is categorized as quite economical by obtaining an average economic ratio of 82%, from the efficient aspect classified as very efficient by obtaining an average efficiency ratio of 2.82 %, and from the aspect of effectiveness classified as very effective category by obtaining an average effectiveness ratio of 105%. The efforts made by the Denpasar City Revenue Agency to increase Rural and Urban Land and Building Taxes revenues are intensifying and extending.
 Keywords: Performance, land tax, value for money

Rural Tax Evasion in Argentina: An Analysis of Tax Evasion Mechanisms and Social Relationships in the Córdoba Grain Market

This paper uses a theoretical perspective based on the ideas of Foucault, critical criminology, and rural criminology, to examine how social relations influenced tax evasion mechanisms in agriculture in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. The paper’s main contribution is to show how tax evasion mechanisms are deeply rooted in social relationships developed in the grain market. Through the analysis of thirty interviews, official statistics of tax evasion convictions, and administrative resolutions issued by the national tax agency, I argue that severe formal controls were unsuccessful in eradicating tax evasion because normative changes could not abruptly annul the social relations that made tax evasion in agriculture possible. On the contrary, tax evasion persisted, although some evasion mechanisms were left aside and new ones were created. Thus, it is necessary to stress the importance of a paper that studies economic crimes in geographic areas outside the global north, such as rural Argentina.

Principle-guided Policy Experimentation in China: From Rural Tax and Fee Reform to Hu and Wen's Abolition of Agricultural Tax

AbstractThe abolition of Agricultural Tax in 2005 was a major policy of the early Hu–Wen administration. But how and why did it happen? Drawing on abundant media reports, archive documents and internal speeches by key policymakers, as well as on the author's interviews, this article argues that this reform was pushed through (the “how”) by “principle-guided policy experimentation” with origins in the period of Jiang Zemin's leadership. Not only does this show policy continuities from the Jiang–Zhu era into the Hu–Wen period, it also reveals a different process of policy experimentation from that identified by Sebastian Heilmann in the economic policy arena. Under principle-guided policy experimentation, Chinese central decision makersfirstreached consensus on theprincipleof the Rural Tax and Fee Reform (RTFR) drawing on policy learning from prior bottom-up local experimentation, andthenformulated and implemented an experimental programme from the top-down, funding it in order to encourage local governments to participate. The evidence suggests that international, political (rural instability), economic and fiscal considerations came to explain leaders’ decisions (the “why”) on tax reform as much as their individual preferences.

Penilaian Intensifikasi PBB P2 dalam Meningkatkan Penerimaan Daerah

The aims of this research to analyze the assessment of intensification on rural and urban land and building tax (PBB P2) in Tulungagung Regency in order to increase PBB P2 revenue through Davey Analysis based on four criteria of local tax assessment, namely: sufficiency and elasticity, justice, administrative ability, and influence of incentive. This research is classified as descriptive research through qualitative approach. Data analysis used interactive models by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014). The research result based on empirical data, theoretical study, and normative study showed that intensification in the forms of technical guidance and SISMIOP data base maintenance are give negative implication on administrative ability assessment due to lack of quality and quantity of human resources. While, monitoring and delivery of SPPT can give positive implication on judgment of justice. Then, presence of socialization on regional regulation and reward giving and sanction imposition, are give positive implication on assessment of elasticity and influence of incentive.

An appraisal of the coloniality of the proposed rural property tax in Botswana

The government of Botswana has recently announced the introduction of property rates in order to generate revenue to address rural-urban migrations. The revenue base is intended for local authorities to generate employment in their areas of administration. This article probes the similarities of the proposed tax with the colonial hut tax. This paper uses document analysis to assess similar historical tax laws, governance frameworks and literature to draw conclusions. It also relies on empirical data collected through questionnaires. The article finds that the proposed tax will cause significant social and economic harm to land and/or property owners in rural areas. It shows that the prevailing institutional framework in Botswana does not allow local governments to manage the proposed revenue base or even create decentralised employment due to the centralised governance system in Botswana. It concludes that the proposed tax will impoverish the rural poor and enrich the central government.

‘Neo-agents’: A study of village governance under the ‘Projects to Villages’ model

The program ‘Projects to Villages’ ( xiangmu jincun) is an important means by which the Chinese government distributes resources to grassroots villages, and it has gained popularity in recent years. ‘Projects to Villages’ has introduced a new group of players into the village governance body—village cadres designated in this study as ‘neo-agents’. The term explains a newly emerged grassroots power base that was created by the government’s ‘Projects to Villages’ initiatives. With the intense competition for projects among villages, people with the right political and personal skills, broad networks, and less vested interest in the village have been able to step onto the political stage and gain power. Contrary to the essential need for developing long-term effective rural leadership, these neo-agents practice a type of short-term, interest-focused governance. They do not provide a solution to the governance quandary experienced in villages since the rural taxation reform in 2002; instead, given the availability of state resources, they help further consolidate the existing village power structure. The study also compares neo-agents with the traditional power agents of gentry, local elites, and government officials. Four aspects of governance, including foundation of authority, mechanism of power transfer, structure of governance, and effectiveness of governance are discussed in hopes of stimulating further academic and practical interest in the subject.

Analyzing the determinant variables on the difficulty of transfer power of rural and urban property tax from central to regional government in Indonesia

Motivated by rapid development of local autonomy and fiscal decentralization in Indonesia, this study aims to analyze determinant variables that causing the difficulty in the transfer policy of Rural and Urban Property Tax from central to regional governments. This program was designed to mitigate the fiscal disparities and revenue inequality among local authorities, also to increase the local people welfare. To comply with Government Law Number 28/2010 on Regional Tax and Levy, government transfers the right and authority of Rural and Urban Property Tax from central into regional government since 1 January 2011. By 31 December 2012, only 18 regional authorities have undergone the program and the rest seems to be having some difficulties. The study adopted a constructivism approach with qualitative method. The results show some determinant variables that causing the difficulties on this policy: (1) the weakness of bureaucratic attitude adhering to local government; (2) central and regional government are still not on the same page on collecting fee for Rural and Urban Property Tax; (3) the unclear formulation on fee collection of Rural and Urban Property Tax; (4) the lack of competency in the local government and short of experiences in Rural and Urban Property Tax collection.

Place-based Inequality in “Energetic” Pain: The Price of Residence in Rural America

Despite the tendency for some to view rural life or living close to nature with nostalgia, the unpalatable truth is that rural America is beset with many problems, including lower incomes, higher poverty rates, limited access to well-paying jobs, higher morbidity and mortality rates, inadequate access to health care, and lower educational attainment. In this study, we question whether this palpable rural disadvantage extends to residential energy costs, a subject with serious implications for the well-being of households. Analyses of data spanning two decades show that rural households consistently spend more on residential energy than urban households, although they generally use less. This finding, which indicates the existence of energy cost inequality between rural and urban places, represents a kind of rural tax. Any sustained spikes in costs, which has happened in the past and would likely happen in the future, could portend significant access risks to rural households.