This book, by Alan A. Tait, is an examination of VAT. It looks at problems and theoretical options and potential impacts, as well as detailing the practical aspects of implementing new tax structures. The author advances arguments for and against alternative policies and illustrates his study with international examples from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. He suggests that countries can learn from each other's experiencees with VAT.

More than 50 countries worldwide employ a value-added tax. What are its effects on prices, exports, and investment? Is it regressive? These and other questions are answered in this collection of papers presented at a March 1990 Jakarta seminar on the VAT in Asia.

How many people are employed by the government? How many are employed by the central government compared with the state and local authorities? How many are employed in public enterprise? How much are they all paid? How much are they paid relative to each other, or relative to the private sector? Such questions interest people in general and economists and policymakers in particular; yet it is remarkable how little information is readily accessible on thes topics.

Many studies on International tax compaisons have been undertaken since the early 1970s. While controversial, such studies have facilitated more subtle comparisons of a country's tax performance than would be afforded by focusing on its simple tax ratio.