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    Attitudes Toward Taxation in Myanmar: Insights from Urban Citizens

    James Owen; Hay Mahn Htun | March 2018
    Abstract
    Taxation has a bad reputation. It is often a dry subject filled with technical jargon. Few look forward to the taxpaying experience. Most of the time ignored, when the topic of taxes does come up in the media it is usually in the form of an article about one group or another opposing tax changes. It takes a brave politician to propose even a modest tax increase and an unusual citizen to welcome one. Such views are heard in many countries, but particularly in Myanmar, where the tax take is among the lowest in the world as a share of GDP. It is widely accepted that citizens are fervently anti tax, thanks to decades of military authoritarianism that failed to meet the needs of the people. “Increase taxes? There will be riots on the streets,” warned one senior policy maker. But how accurate are tax officials’ and policymakers’ prevailing views of citizens’ attitudes towards taxation? What do citizens really think and know? These questions matter because taxes matter. Myanmar now finds itself in the early stages of a democratic transition and the gradual upgrading of its governance systems. Taxes have the potential to be a key tool in supporting these transformations. They are a sustainable and reliable means to raise government revenues to fund the public goods and services that the people want and need. Paying taxes is at the heart of the social contract between government and citizen. When people pay taxes, they fulfil a core duty as citizens. This act can empower them to demand that their government work better. Tax policy and the taxpaying experience also matter because they influence citizens’ views of their government. They can determine whether they see their government as transparent, fair, and accountable or extractive, dismissive, and self-serving.
    Citation
    James Owen; Hay Mahn Htun. 2018. Attitudes Toward Taxation in Myanmar: Insights from Urban Citizens. © The Asia Foundation. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/8092.
    Keywords
    Urban Development Finance
    Trade Finance
    Small Business Finance
    Rural Finance
    Roundtable on International Trade and Finance
    Regional Development Finance
    Public Service Finance
    Public Finance
    Project Finance
    Private Finance
    Nonbank Financing
    Non-Bank Financial Institutions
    Municipal Finance
    Local Government Finance
    Local Currency Financing
    Limited Resource Financing
    International Financial Institutions
    Infrastructure Financing
    Industrial Finance
    Government Financial Institutions
    Government Finance
    Financing of Infrastructure
    Financial Sector Development
    Financial Regulation
    Public Sector Infrastructure
    Public Sector Management
    Public Sector Projects
    Taxation
    Public Accounting
    National Budget
    Municipal Bonds
    Local Government
    Local Taxes
    International Monetary Relations
    International Financial Market
    International Banking
    Central Banks
    Business Financing
    Capital Resources
    Budgetary Policy
    Capital Needs
    Corporate Divestiture
    Capital Instruments
    Pension Funds
    Insurance Companies
    Banks
    Portfolio Management
    Fiscal Administration
    Economics of Education
    Development Banks
    Public enterprises
    Public finance
    Infrastructure projects
    Development projects
    Bonds
    Grants
    Loans
    Use tax
    Taxing power
    State of taxation
    Tax-sales
    Tax revenue estimating
    Tax planning
    Spendings tax
    Special assessments
    Tax administration and procedure
    Sales tax
    Real property and taxation
    Progressive taxation
    Effect of taxation on land use
    Effect of taxation on labor supply
    Intergovernmental tax relations
    Inheritance and transfer tax
    Energy tax
    Investment of public funds
    Intergovernmental fiscal relations
    Social infrastructure
    Public works
    Government lending
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    Citable URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11540/8092
    Metadata
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    Tax-Attitude-Full-Report_English.pdf (1.080Mb)
    Author
    James Owen
    Hay Mahn Htun
    Theme
    Finance
    Public Sector
    Labor Migration
     
    Copyright 2016-2020 Asian Development Bank Institute, except as explicitly marked otherwise
    Copyright 2016-2020 Asian Development Bank Institute, except as explicitly marked otherwise