Ideology and Interests in Tax Administration Reform in Jamaica

Efforts to amass sufficient resources to meet the ever-growing demands of citizens often prove to be daunting tasks for many developing countries. These countries, similar to their more developed counterparts, often undertake administrative reforms to increase revenue collection effectiveness and equity. However, the reforms are often slow and fail to achieve their desired objectives. In examining efforts to reform tax administrative systems in Jamaica, this study demonstrates how ideology and interests contributed to expressions of competing and conflicting institutional logics, resulting in the unsuccessful implementation of innovative organizational changes and increased compliance and enforcement. The findings suggest that recognition of, and attention to, competing logics will improve the decisions needed to undertake successful tax administration reforms, in Jamaica and beyond. In particular, theories of public policy and the policy process should deal explicitly with institutional constraints, otherwise their validity of descriptions and prescriptive powers will be considerably weakened. Related Articles Post, Lori Ann, Amber Raile, and Eric Raile. 2010. “Defining Political Will.” Politics & Policy 38 (4): 653-676. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2010.00253.x/abstract Konig, Pascal, and Georg Wenzelburger. 2014. “Toward a Theory of Political Strategy in Policy Analysis.” Politics & Policy 42 (3): 400-430. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12076/abstract Related Media Friedland, Roger. 2015. “The Value of Institutional Logics.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_YGNwC4GZs The Economist. 2015. “Tax Them and They Will Grow.” July 11. http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21657433-poor-countries-need-get-better-raising-tax-and-multinational-firms-need Los esfuerzos para acumular recursos suficientes para las crecientes demandas de los ciudadanos han probado ser tareas abrumadoras para muchos paises emergentes. Estos paises, al igual que sus contrapartes industrializadas, han implementado reformas administrativas para aumentar la efectividad en la recaudacion de impuestos y activos. Sin embargo, frecuentemente estas reformas son lentas y no logran alcanzar sus objetivos deseados. Al examinar los esfuerzos para reformar la administracion del sistema tributario de Jamaica, este estudio demuestra como la ideologia e intereses contribuyeron al surgimiento de practicas institucionales competidoras y contradictorias; lo cual resulto en un fracaso para implementar cambios organizacionales y una mejora en la recaudacion y el cumplimiento. Los resultados sugieren que el reconocimiento de, y la atencion a, las practicas competidoras podran mejorar la toma de decisiones necesaria para la implementacion exitosa de reformas administrativas al sistema tributario, en Jamaica y demas paises. En particular, las teorias de politica publica y del proceso de politica deberian de lidiar de forma explicita con las restricciones institucionales, de lo contrario la validez de su capacidad descriptiva y prescriptiva se vera debilitada.