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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