First Paragraph
All governments need money in order to pay for operations, and they obtain funds through a number of means. Emerging economies are in a unique, perhaps enviable position because they have not built up large, burdensome tax collecting bureaucracies. The tax systems in Western democracies, on the other hand, have become increasingly complex, inefficient, and difficult to manage. For example, tax laws in the United States are passed, later amended, and then amended again. Tax laws often become obscure because the government continually passes new, complex laws. Since laws are easier to pass than to repeal, the volume and complexity of these laws grow each year to the point where the whole tax system is in danger of collapsing on itself.
Recommended Citation
Robert W. McGee, Principles of Taxation for Emerging Economies: Lessons from the U.S. Experience, 12 Penn St. Int'l L. Rev. 29 (1993).