The term ‘tax system performance’ does not have a fully unified meaning. The first integrated concept of how to construct tax systems was presented by Smith (2005), whose principles of taxation, involved in the canons of... [ view full abstract ]
The term ‘tax system performance’ does not have a fully unified meaning. The first integrated concept of how to construct tax systems was presented by Smith (2005), whose principles of taxation, involved in the canons of taxation, formed the starting point for the study of the theory and practice of tax administration. Justice, certainty, convenience, and efficiency are principles that informed the development of contemporary taxation theory. However, this kind of approach needs operationalisation in order to be able to create benchmarks. One interesting framework, provided by Barbone et al. (1999), suggested that the performance of a tax system can be measured via a matrix, where the core areas to be investigated are policy formulation, accountability, and service delivery indicators. Many other authors (e.g. Tanzi, 1991, 1996; Gallagher, 2005; Das Gupta, 2002) do not include accountability as specific sub-area, focusing on two core levels of tax system performance: tax policy (‘macro-level’) and tax administration (‘micro-level’). We will continue with this approach for practical reasons.
Both macro and micro levels are frequently investigated by the existing academic and professional literature. However, in literature concerning the macro-level, the focus is particularly on issues such as the ‘optimum’ tax mix, tax rates, income, and the distributive effects of a tax system well covered by well-known textbooks on public finance and taxation (summarised for example by Stiglitz, 1989). In the Czech and Slovak conditions, the core textbooks on this topic are Kubatova, Vybihal et al. (2004) and Kubatova (2009).
On the micro-level, academic studies focus particularly on costs of taxation, and professional studies focus mainly on the capacities of tax administration (such as the contents of the Tax Tribune journal or the OECD tax database series). There are very few sources dealing directly with the issue of performance management on the level of tax administration offices. Our plan is to contribute to this stream of research by the comparative study focusing on the conditions of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech tax system (according to existing databases and sources) achieves much better results compared to Slovakia – is the quality of institutional performance management on the level of tax offices a potential determinant of this situation?
H2 - Performance management in the public sector – practices and real effects in developed
