External publications

Business organisations, party systems and tax composition in developing countries: a comparison between Colombia and Peru

von Schiller, Armin
External Publications (2016)

in: The Journal of Development Studies 52 (12), 1722-1743

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2016.1153075
Volltext/Document

This paper explores the relationship between socio-political institutions and tax composition in developing countries. It argues that strong business organisations and stable political party systems reduce the uncertainty of fiscal contracts for economic elites. The decrease in uncertainty leads elites to accept a larger share of the tax burden, which governments then collect using progressive tax types more intensively. To illustrate this claim, I provide evidence from a comparative analysis of the Peruvian and the Colombian tax history between 1970 and 2010.