IFA: Presumptive Income Taxation

Using presumptions improves the admissibility of a tax while lowering its accuracy. The key question that arises: to what extent the former benefit justifies the latter cost. On a related issue, some in the field believe that presumptive taxation should be considered a permanent supplement or even a replacement for the more traditional tax system. Others see it as a merely transitional phase until the tax administration is capable of collecting the normal tax without the widespread use of presumptions.

Presumptive taxation raises both theoretical and practical issues of great importance. From a policy perspective, the extent to which presumptions can operate to simplify the task of administration without fundamentally changing the tax base is a key issue. From a practical perspective, the fundamental issue in presumptive taxation is the trade-off between accuracy and administrability.

The papers collected in this book reflect the broad diversity of presumptive taxation types in use today. They speak to the overall theme that presumptive taxation is a widespread form of taxation, not limited to developing countries, which can be helpful whenever administering normal tax base proves too challenging.

Tax practitioners, policymakers, and others interested in the direction of tax assessment will appreciate the topicality of this work on a controversial subject.