Tax and charge creation by regional governments under fiscal decentralisation: Estimates and explanations

Under fiscal decentralisation, regional governments have been given the authority to create new taxes and charges. Many observers have criticised the regions for being too aggressive in establishing new revenue instruments, and the central government for allowing too many of them to stand. Regional governments authorised nearly 1,000 new taxes and charges in the run-up to and through fiscal year 2001, many of them focused on primary sector goods and factors. The analysis here suggests that only around 40% of all newly authorised subnational taxes and charges were submitted to the centre for review as required by law; the remainder were presumably implemented without central evaluation and therefore illegally. Regional governments argue that they create new taxes and charges out of fiscal need, but this paper finds no evidence to support the claim that lack of fiscal capacity is a driving force in the creation of new revenue instruments.