Publication
Omar Shaban Ismail · صحيفة محلية · 1998
A 1998 article addressing the problems of Palestinian tax policy in its early formation years, offering reform recommendations on tax equity, collection efficiency, and strengthening the Palestinian Authority's self-generated revenue base in the post-Oslo period.
A 1998 article addressing the problems of Palestinian tax policy in its early formation years, offering reform recommendations on tax equity, collection…
Palestinian tax policy faces fundamental challenges in its early formation years that make building a just and effective tax system a matter of considerable complexity. At the forefront stands the constraining framework of the Paris Economic Protocol, which governs the mechanisms for customs revenue collection and transfer between Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
Among the most significant problems: widespread tax compliance weakness and evasion across large segments of the informal economy; the absence of a comprehensive and updated tax database enabling accurate taxpayer identification; and limited institutional capacity within the tax authority, which remains in the process of construction.
Reform recommendations include: building a progressive tax system that respects citizens' fiscal capacity and promotes social justice; developing tax information systems and databases; simplifying compliance procedures to encourage integration into the formal economy; and building a trust relationship between citizens and the tax institution through transparency in how tax revenues are used. An effective Palestinian tax system is not merely a revenue collection instrument but a foundation of the social contract between state and citizen.
Topic: Palestinian Economy — Tax Policy · Public Finance · Palestinian Politics · Economic Reform