Dilemmas and paradoxes regarding key tax elements - the causes of constant corporate income tax reforms

[M. B. Ristić Cakić]

[30], 295 listova

Bibliografija: list 271-285.

public finance, financial theory and policy

Contemporary tax systems and the latest economic trends have raised questions about the persistence of corporate income tax despite current propositions that this form of taxation, along with its stabilization and development component, positively impacts economic growth even in conditions of cyclical fluctuations. Thus, the once-celebrated "tax ideal" has been subjected to continuous criticism in economic literature and ongoing reforms in tax systems, making it the "epicenter" of contemporary financial doctrine. The goal of this work is to provide grounded assessments of the presence of dilemmas and paradoxes in the elements of corporate income taxation based on appropriate descriptive and empirical analyses, identify key determinants of corporate income tax revenue, and propose alternative reform drafts for this taxation form. With the intention to test the theoretically founded concept of profit taxation in a real environment and determine its significance therein, the doctoral research approached empirical verification using statistical and econometric methods on a sample of EU, OECD, and RS. The theoretical analysis of key tax elements illuminated the most significant dilemmas of corporate income tax and highlighted paradoxes, thereby enabling the creation of a conceptual framework for examining determinants and solving puzzles that accompany it. An assessment of effective tax rates, through data processing from tax balances, indicated a high degree of tax liability management by the most successful companies and significant repercussions on corporate income tax revenues. Empirical analysis of tax rate changes, driven by tax competition, confirmed their asymmetry and divergent trends relative to corporate income tax revenues. Although tax incentives are specifically designed to reduce corporate income tax revenues, which is why they are referred to as "tax expenditures" in the literature, the dissertation confirms a paradox: effective tax burden on the corporate sector can lead to an increase in corporate income tax revenues. Consequently, a proposal for their parameterization has been defined through a detailed analysis of the efficiency of tax incentives in RS. By conducting an estimation of the impact of analyzed determinants on corporate income tax revenues, seven models of empirical research were created to analyze the impact of tax and economic policy, yielding the following results: 1. the statutory corporate income tax rate positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 2. the effective corporate income tax rate positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 3. the effective marginal corporate income tax rate positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 4. the statutory income tax rate positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 5. tax revenues positively affect corporate income tax revenues; 6. inflation positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 7. globalization positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 8. public debt negatively affects corporate income tax revenues; 9. unemployment negatively affects corporate income tax revenues; 10. the growth of state spending for final consumption negatively affects corporate income tax revenues; 11. the growth of state revenues positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 12. control of corruption in the country positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 13. control of the regulatory function of the executive authority positively affects corporate income tax revenues; 14. an increase in imports and a decrease in exports affect an increase in corporate income tax revenues; 15. human capital significantly contributes to increasing corporate income tax revenues. Identifying dilemmas and paradoxes of key tax elements and conducted empirical analyses showed the impossibility of harmonizing the current concept of corporate income tax worldwide due to its great complexity. In this sense, guidelines for creating its reform, which would correspond to contemporary business conditions, were conceived.

porez na dobit preduzeća, poreski obveznik, zakonska poreska stopa, efektivna poreska stopa, poreski podsticaji, poreska politika, ekonomska politika vlade

corporate income tax, taxpayer, statutory tax rate, effective tax rate, tax incentives, tax policy, government economic policy

336.226.14:330.526.33(100)(043.3)

S 181

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