![]() |
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
|
---|---|
|
Paul Benson
|
Egypt Decentralization Initiative (EDI)
For the Egyptian Ministry of Local Development (FBR) through a USAID financed Subcontract with PADCO, Inc.
$634,964
2006 – 2011
Project Summary
The USAID Egypt Decentralization Initiative began in 2006. The ICePP/AECOM team wrote a proposal and was awarded a USAID contract to provide decentralization capacity building and technical assistance to the Egyptian Ministry of Local Government Development. The work concentrated on six areas of technical assistance which included: (1) providing technical assistance in the development of a decentralization strategy and implementation plan and continued assistance during the implementation phase of the decentralization strategy, (2) strengthening the policy capabilities of modeling thereby building the analytical capacity of the new technical office, (3) supporting the research agenda for decentralization, (4) providing of capacity building training programs for central and local government officials, (5) facilitating the development of a national curriculum on decentralization policy, and (6) facilitating donor coordination for decentralization policy.
Objectives
TAP was a 22-month collaboration in support of the World Bank TARP. The objectives were threefold:
- To provide a comprehensive assessment of Pakistan’s tax system;
- Learn lessons from countries involved in successful tax policy reforms and lay out options for tax reform in Pakistan; and
- Build government capacity for fiscal policy analysis.
Partners
This project involved a partnership among three parties: Government of Pakistan, the World Bank, and the International Center for Public Policy.
Government of Pakistan was represented through Federal Bureau of Revenue and Ministry of Finance. The FBR team was headed by Mr. Ahmad Waqar, Secretary Revenue Division and Chairman FBR, and Mr. M. Abdullah Yusuf, former Chairman FBR, and included Mr. Mumtaz Haider Rizvi, Member Fiscal Research and Statistics, Dr. Ather Maqsood Ahmed, former Member Fiscal Research and Statistics, Mrs. Robina Ather Ahmed, Chief Fiscal Research and Statistics, Mr. Umar Wahid, Secretary Fiscal Research and Statistics, Mr. Mir Ahmed Khan, Second Secretary Fiscal Research and Statistics, and Mr. Naeem Ahmed, Second Secretary Fiscal Research and Statistics.
The World Bank was represented by Kaspar Richter who was the Task Team Leader, SASEP
The International Center for Public Policy was represented by Dr. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and engaged a team of nine Andrew Young School faculty, research associates, and consultants.
Visiting Scholars
As part of the capacity building activities on the TAP project, ICePP hosted 4 visiting scholars from the Federal Bureau of Revenue: Robina Ather Ahmed, Umar Wahid, Mir Ahmad Khan and Naeem Ahmad from September 2007 – August 2008. During their visits the participants received hands-on training in Research Methods and content lectures in Tax Policy, Revenue Forecasting, and Fiscal Decentralization.
- Robina Ather Ahmed,who was serving as Chief of the Fiscal Research and Statistics Department of the Federal Board of Revenue, was a Visiting Research Scholar in Atlanta, Georgia from September-December 2007. During her stay, she worked on the policy paper “Pakistan’s Tax Gap: Estimates by Tax Calculation and Methodology” with Dr. Mark Rider.
- Mir Ahmad Khan, who was serving as Second Secretary in the Fiscal Research and Statistics Department of the Federal Board of Revenue, was a Visiting Research Scholar in Atlanta, Georgia from November 2007 to March 2008. During his stay, he worked on the policy paper “Assessing Enterprise Taxation and Investment Climate in Pakistan” with Dr. James Alm.
- Umar Wahid, who was serving as Secretary in the Fiscal Research and Statistics Department of the Federal Board of Revenue, was a Visiting Research Scholar in Atlanta, Georgia from November 2007 to March 2008. During his stay, he worked on the policy paper “Incidence of Taxes in Pakistan: Premier and Preliminary Estimates” with Professor Sally Wallace.
- Naeem Ahmad, from the Fiscal Research and Statistics Department of the Federal Board of Revenue, was a Visiting Research Scholar in Atlanta, Georgia from April – August, 2008. During his stay, he worked on a Micro Simulation Model with Professor Jorge Martinez-Vazquez.
Study Tour: Ankara, Turkey
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez led a group of officials from the Federal Board of Revenue from Pakistan for a tax reform study tour in Ankara, Turkey from September 16-22, 2007. The study tour was coordinated with Prof. Selcuk Caner of Bilkent University of Ankara and Kaspar Richter of the World Bank, who was the Task Team Leader from the World Bank for work Tax Policy Review Contract.
The objective of the mission was to learn lessons from the Turkish experience for tax reform in Pakistan, covering the areas of information technology, administration, and tax policy. The group visited four departments within the Revenue Administration (implementation and data management, tax policy, audit and management of compliance, and human resources), the Turkish Customs Service, field visits to the Ankara Tax Office Directorate and a Ankara-based Tax Office, and academia.

Kaspar Richter (World Bank), Dr Ather Maqsood Ahmed (FBR Member Fiscal Research and Statistics), Jorge Martinez (GSU), Commissioner Mr. Osman Arıoğlu, Mr. M Abdullah Yusuf (Chairman FBR), Mrs. Jabeen Mussarat (FBR Member Indirect Taxes), Hasan Halil Gönül, Mr. Usman Khalid Mirza (FBR Member Direct Taxes)
Project Publications
The first component of the Pakistan Tax Policy Review comprised a comprehensive review of Pakistan’s tax system. The appraisal involved a series of eight tax policy papers which will compose the Pakistan Tax Policy Report. As of 2006, Pakistan had not undertaken a systematic examination of its tax structure in quite some time. At the time, there was increasing evidence that the present tax system could no longer serve the needs of the country. Pakistan’s economy had changed considerably over the last decade and its fiscal needs had also changed. The tax system at the time faced significant problems in revenue adequacy and its impact on economic efficiency and equity. Over the years, a focus on piecemeal changes to the tax structure had introduced different sorts of distortions and had carried the system away from the desirable properties of a tax system. These nine policy papers put the entire tax system under a microscope to see whether it matched up with Government of Pakistan’s goals for its fiscal system and proposed options for reform. The eight policy papers included:
- Policy Paper 1: Comprehensive Individual Tax Reform: Round 2
- Policy Paper 2: Tax Policy in Pakistan: An Assessment of Major Taxes and Options for Reform
- Policy Paper 3: Pakistan’s Tax Gap: Estimates by Tax Calculation and Methodology
- Policy Paper 4: Pakistan: Provincial Government Taxation
- Policy Paper 5: Assessing Enterprise Taxation and the Investment Climate in Pakistan
- Policy Paper 6: Incidence of Taxes in Pakistan: Primer and Estimates
- Policy Paper 8: Pakistan – A Globalized Tax World: An Analysis of Its International Tax Practice
- Policy Paper 9: Pakistan Tax Policy Report: Tapping Tax Bases for Development
Click Here to View Policy Papers
Pakistan: A Preliminary Assessment of the Federal Tax System
by Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
Policy Paper 1: Comprehensive Individual Tax Reform: Round 2
by Harini Kanaan & Sally Wallace
Policy Paper 2: Tax Policy in Pakistan: An Assessment of Major Taxes and Options for Reform
by Wayne Thirsk
Policy Paper 3: Pakistan’s Tax Gap: Estimates by Tax Calculation and Methodology
by Mark Rider & Robina Ather Ahmed
Policy Paper 4: Pakistan: Provincial Government Taxation
by Roy Bahl, Musharraf Cyan, and Sally Wallace
Policy Paper 5: Assessing Enterprise Taxation and the Investment Climate in Pakistan
by James Alm and Mir Ahmad Khan
Policy Paper 6: Incidence of Taxes in Pakistan: Primer and Estimates
by Umar Wahid & Sally Wallace
Policy Paper 7: Pakistan – A Globalized Tax World: An Analysis of Its International Tax Practice
by Geerten M. M. Michielse
Policy Paper 8: Pakistan Tax Policy Report: Tapping Tax Bases for Development
by Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Kaspar Richter
Project Team
![]() |
James Alm Former Interim Dean, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS) Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
![]() |
Roy Bahl Emeritus Professor of Economics; Founding Dean, AYSPS Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
![]() |
Musharraf Cyan Research Assistant Professor of Economics, ICePP, (AYSPS) Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy, Evaluation |
![]() |
Harini Kannan Senior Research Manager, J-PAL South Asia, (AYSPS Alumni) Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
![]() |
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez Regents Professor of Economics; Director ICePP (AYSPS) Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
![]() |
Geerten M.M. Michielse Director, Centre for Taxation and Public Governance, Utrecht School of Law, Utrecht University Area of Expertise: Tax Policy, Tax Law |
![]() |
Mark Rider Associate Professor of Economics, (AYSPS) Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization,Tax Policy,Evaluation, Tax Policy,Revenue Forecasting |
![]() |
Wayne Thirsk Former Visiting Professor, ICePP, (AYSPS) Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
![]() |
Sally Wallace Associate Dean, Research and Strategic Initiatives; Professor, Economics; Director, FRC Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy, Revenue Forecasting,Evaluation |
Publications, Resources, and News:
![]() |
Book: The Role of Taxation in Pakistan’s Revival, 2016 Oxford University Press Edited by Jorge Martinez-Vazquez and Musharraf Cyan |
![]() |
Pakistan Tax Policy Report: Tapping Tax Bases for Development, Volume I: Summary Report World Bank Report No. 50078-PK, July 2009 |
![]() |
Pakistan Tax Policy Report: Tapping Tax Bases for Development, Volume II: Full Report World Bank Report No. 50078-PK, July 2009 |
NEWS | Pakistan Federal Bureau of Revenue, Article of Reform, 2011 |
![]() |
Short-term steps not in conformity with tax reform objective: World Bank by Sohail Sarfraz, Business Recorder, November 27, 2006 |
Contract Number: | ||
GSURF Project Number: | ||
Project Director(s): | ||
Client: | USAID/Egyptian Ministry of Local Development | |
Location: | Egypt | |
Amount: | $634,964.11 | |
Funding Agency: | PADCO/USAID | |
Date: | 2006 – 2011 |
Project Summary
The ISP was awarded a $635,000 subcontract as part of the USAID Egypt – Decentralization Initiative as a subcontractor to AECOM. The work concentrates on six areas of technical assistance where the ISP is proposing to make substantial contributions to the ongoing decentralization initiative in Egypt. These activities will include: (1) providing technical assistance in the development of a decentralization strategy and implementation plan and continued assistance during the implementation phase of the decentralization strategy, (2) strengthening the policy capabilities of modeling thereby building the analytical capacity of the new technical office, (3) support to the research agenda for decentralization, (4) provision of training programs for central and local government officials, (5) facilitating the development of a national curriculum on decentralization policy, and (6) facilitating donor coordination for decentralization policy.
Project Team
![]() |
James Alm Former Dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy | |
![]() |
Roy Bahl Emeritus Professor of Economics Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy | |
![]() |
Musharraf Cyan Research Assistant Professor of Economics Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Reform, Development Planning | |
![]() |
Harini Kannan Former GSU PHD Student Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy | |
![]() |
Jorge Martinez-Vasquez Regents Professor of Economics/Director ICePP Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy | |
![]() |
Geerten M.M. Michielse Consultant Area of Expertise: Tax Policy | |
![]() |
Mark Rider Associate Professor of Economics Area of Expertise: Program Evaluation, Tax Policy, Revenue Forecasting, Fiscal Decentralization | |
![]() |
Wayne Thirsk Former Visiting Professor Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy | |
![]() |
Sally Wallace Professor of Economics Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy, Revenue Forecasting, Program Evaluation |
Other Project Team Members
Robina Ather, Ahmad Khan, Umar Wahid