Preparing for Transition: Lessons from Tax System Reforms in the Central Asian Republic

Abstract:     
Two decades of transition in the five Central Asian Republics (CARs) have shown that, in the absence of a theoretical framework (roadmap) and political commitment for implementation, borrowed laws and institutions based on the international best practice are useful but not fully effective in catapulting the tax system of these republics to their desired western level aspirations. The absence of a roadmap and the gradual approach to tax reform has allowed the Soviet legacy to linger and to manifest itself in the political decisions. The gradual approach to tax reform has exasperated by enabling the creation of entrenched vested interest that would not benefit from reform. Relaxing political constraints pose challenges that are yet to be met by the forces of reforms within each tax system.

Keywords: economic transition, tax reform, tax policy, tax administration, tax code, corruption

JEL Classification: H11, H2, K34, O57, P27

working papers series