Log in
Research carried out at the University of Exeter Business School (UoEBS) into the design of fiscally decentralized institutions has been instrumental in bringing `vertical fiscal externalities' (an inherent feature of multi-level governments), and the resulting inefficiencies, to the attention of international organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and governments worldwide. This work has informed policy decisions and provided awareness of the intrinsic issues and interdependencies between tax decisions at different levels of government through the production of significant theoretical, empirical, and policy literature, and has directly influenced taxation policy directly through changes in fiscal legislation in Germany.
Research at LSE by Henrik Kleven and colleagues has significantly improved the design of tax policy and tax enforcement in countries as different as Pakistan and Denmark. These policy impacts can be summarised as follows:
The research carried out by Professor Richard Blundell transformed understanding of the responsiveness of labour supply to tax and welfare reform, and fundamentally changed the public debate about taxation. This was achieved most clearly through the Mirrlees Review of Tax Reform, co-authored by Professor Blundell, and through publications that provided the key scientific evidence behind the tax rate, tax credit and benefit integration proposals. These proposals had substantive impact on policy reform at home and abroad, ranging from public debate on the fundamental principles of taxation to immediate impact on tax and welfare reform legislation, such as the business case for the Universal Credit reform.
Following the global economic crisis of 2007, the question of how macroeconomic policies could be used to ameliorate its consequences has come to the fore. Research led by Professor Patrick Minford at Cardiff Business School (CBS) has promoted a shift in policy in the UK in a classical direction and away from the Keynesian demand management approach. CBS researchers from the Julian Hodge Institute of Applied Macroeconomics (JHIAM) have shown through economic modelling how a series of measures, for example, clear monetary rules which target inflation, could benefit the UK economy. The research has also been used both directly and indirectly, via MPs and intermediaries, to inform policy debates around such major issues as Britain's membership of the European Union (EU), as well as contributing to the wider public debate.
Since it was established in 2005, the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation (CBT) has had significant and wide-ranging impact on several aspects of the formation of tax policy in Europe. Feeding into the current topical public debate on business taxation, the centre's research on the design and effects of corporation tax and VAT has had impact in several ways, two of which are highlighted here: 1) on a proposal by the European Commission, and the response by member states, to harmonise corporation tax within the EU, in which the research has been partly responsible for the reform not being implemented; and 2) on a far-reaching reform to VAT in Portugal, where the research contributed significantly to the design of the revised VAT system.
Vaughan Williams demonstrated the benefits to consumers, betting operators and government of switching from a tax regime based on turnover to a gross profits tax (GPT). Applied initially by the UK Government to general betting (i.e. through bookmakers) and then to bingo and pools betting, GPT was extended in 2013 to gaming machines through a new machine games duty. HM Revenue and Customs used Vaughan Williams' elasticity estimates in setting the rate of machine games duty and to successfully challenge regulatory discrepancies relating to gaming machines and stake limits. Since 2011 other European countries have followed the UK's lead and switched to gambling taxation based on GPT.
Professors Kimberley Scharf and Benjamin Lockwood have influenced public and policy debate leading to tax policy changes in the UK and EU. Scharf estimated the impact of proposed reforms to the UK Gift Aid program, research that improved public understanding, led to the creation of an open discussion forum for affected parties, and shaped NGO/charity campaigns. Lockwood estimated the tax effects of removing VAT exemption from firms offering financial services in the EU. The methods developed were adopted by EU analysts and underpinned EU estimates of the tax advantages enjoyed by the sector, leading to the 2011-12 imposition of a Financial Transactions Tax within 11 EU member states from 2014.
Research by Geoff Whittam and Mike Danson at the University of the West of Scotland looked at the local effects of the Council Tax on poverty and inequality. Their work led to them proposing a new progressive model of `local' taxation called the Scottish Service Tax (SST). The research has been used by NGOs and other organisation to inform their own policy positions and campaigns for taxation reforms and poverty alleviation. The SST model has been cited extensively in submissions to enquiries and debates about Scottish local funding reforms. SST was adopted by the Scottish Socialist Party in 2002 which led to a Bill being put before the Scottish Parliament.
This case study details the impact of research conducted by the Centre for Hearth Tax Research in the preservation and presentation of historical data. Through the process of research, public engagement, and digital publications, the Centre for Hearth Tax Research has substantially increased access to the hearth tax for the benefit of a wide range of public users. This accessibility has been achieved firstly by the conversion of complex fiscal data into new formats, and secondly by an outreach strategy directed at local history and record societies, genealogists and family historians, and those interested in historic buildings. This research has had a significant impact in the following three ways: (a) preserving fragile records for the benefit of future generations, (b) the enhancement of public service provision in national and local archives, and (c) by widening access to the hearth tax as a resource.
Professor Prem Sikka has become widely known in finance circles for his research on the `dark side' of the finance industry. His research on tax avoidance in particular has established him as an expert on the mechanisms by which companies find legal loopholes to avoid tax. As a result he has been asked to use his research to inform policy discussion in three main ways: by consulting with the UK Government's Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills; by informing politicians and parliamentary committees in Westminster, Scotland, and France; and by acting as a senior adviser to a number of NGOs concerned with the tax conduct of global corporations. In recognition of his contributions to public discourse he has been named by specialist publication Accountancy Age as one of the 50 most influential figures in UK finance.