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Over the past 10 years, there has been a virtual revolution in applied taxation policies in developed, developing, and transition economies. There has been a remarkable consensus formed by tax policy experts of every discipline about the design of effective and stable tax systems to finance the public sector. While the degree of consensus among economists and tax policy experts has been impressive, the tax policies have often run aground when they hit the entrenched views of the the existing legal traditions and legislative processes. It is common to find multiple laws applying to the same tax or having multiple administrative laws which apply to the different components of the tax system. At the same time, there is little or no awareness amongst the legal profession that such a tax system is an impediment to progress.
The BWTC was initiated as a modest attempt to provide an example of the laws that are needed for an efficient and effective tax system. The objective was to provide the tax policy and legal experts in the reforming countries with a framework, or a checklist, of what is needed (or not needed) to have the foundation for a system. The response of the potential users of this model tax code has more than justified the effort that has gone into its design and preparation. Over the past two years, the Code has become a standard reference of those embarking on tax reform in these countries. It has been used as a part of the course material in the graduate courses, Comparative Income Taxation, and Value Added Taxation, at Harvard University and elsewhere. Its immediate translation into Russian has greatly enhanced its usefulness as a practical tool of tax reform in the transition economies.
This project has been blessed by the tremendous expertise of Mr. Hussey and Mr. Lubick. Mr. Hussey's long experience as the Legislative Counsel of the US House of Representatives, and Mr. Lubick's experience as both a tax practitioner and a senior policy maker, has combined to make them a unique team to prepare this tax code.
Since the first discussion draft of the BWTC was made available, Mr. Lubick and Mr. Hussey have been working with numerous countries to assist them in designing or reforming their tax systems. They have also had the benefit of comments from many colleagues who have expressed their views on how the BWTC might be improved. The objective has never been, nor should it be, to build a comprehensive tax code with all the details that might arise in each specific country. The goal has been to design a highly professional, but basic, tax code which could provide a solid legal foundation for a modern tax system. Messrs. Hussey and Lubick have written the Basic World Tax Code in a very timely manner while carrying on a heavy load of tax advisory assistance around the world. Their creativity, dedication, and diligence is greatly appreciated by those of us who are users of their product. The International Tax Program is very proud to have Mr. Hussey and Mr. Lubick as Senior Fellows, and is very pleased to be able to sponsor their second edition of the Basic World Tax Code.
Glenn P. Jenkins
July 1995
Tax Analysts is pleased to make all versions, in all the different languages it has been produced, available for the first time ever over the internet.
To view the Basic World Tax Code, you will need a copy of the Acrobat Reader, available free of charge from Adobe.
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