DISCUSSION PAPER No. 4 November 2019 Governance Global Practice Thinking strategically about revenue administration reform: The creation of integrated, autonomous revenue bodies Raul Felix Junquera-Varela Rajul Awasthi Oleksii Balabushko Alma Nurshaikova This series is produced by Governance Global Practice of the World Bank. The papers in this series aim to provide a vehicle for publishing preliminary results on Governance topics to encourage discussion and debate. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. Citation and the use of material presented in this series should take into account this provisional character. For information regarding the Governance Discussion Paper Series, please contact contact: Ayse Boybeyi, at
[email protected] JEL Classification: H11, H29, H83 Key Words: Domestic Resource Mobilization, Tax Administration, Revenue Administration, Public Administration. © 2019 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 All rights reserved ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, two trends in tax administration reform have emerged – granting increased autonomy to tax administrations and establishing a unified integrated revenue authority (IRA) charged with administering both tax and customs laws and, in some cases, social security. This paper reviews the theory and practice of these revenue administration models and synthesizes lessons learned from the World Bank’s engagement with clients in recent years. The paper looks at several case studies across the world on the reform design as well as results of integration or increased autonomy.