Taxes and People in Israel

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1973. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. xviii, [2], 307, [1] pages. DJ has some wear and soiling. Inscribed by the author on the free end paper. Inscription reads: Feb. 1973, To Bill and Mollie, as slight recompense for having suffered with me while this book was being made. Harold Wilkenfeld. Includes Foreword by Oliver Oldman, and a Preface. Also includes Introduction: The Administrative Crisis; The Tax System of Israel; Development of the Administrative Structure; External Relations; Men and Machines; Improvement of Income Tax Assessment Techniques; Administrative and Judicial Resolution of Disputed Determinations; Overcoming Tax Evasion; Administration of Taxes on Property; and Compulsory Payments. Also contains bibliography and Index. Harold C. Wilkenfeld was Chief of the Review Section, Tax Division, United States Department of Justice. He was a consultant on tax administration to the Division of Public Finance and Financial Institutions of the United Nations and to the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund. This study of tax administration in Israel is particularly revealing because Israel has been in a period of continuing transition and repeated crises during its short life. Moreover, it is a country for which the tax system has almost from the beginning been much more than a device to raise money. It has been used consciously, often experimentally, as a means of facilitating or accomplishing economic and social ends. These tax policy objectives have meant that the system has changed frequently with respect to technical structure and distribution of tax burden. “In tax administration,” writes the author, “all countries can learn from each other.” This revealing case study of the development of Israel’s tax system—a system which has dealt with the full panoply of problems that tax administrators must face and which is further characterized by heavy taxation—offers a wealth of noteworthy examples for other countries. Harold C. Wilkenfeld presents a detailed account of the historical and economic realities that forged Israel’s elaborate tax structure from the Ottoman period to the present day. He scrutinizes such areas as the crises that Israel’s tax administration faced shortly after the State achieved its independence, the problems which had to be solved, the formulation of administrative policy, the interplay of a developing civil service and a developing citizenry. All of these areas are viewed in the context of an evolving economy and a continuing external conflict. The author presents practical guidelines for countries interested in advancing the effectiveness of tax administration. For instance, many of the Israeli administration’s tactics against tax evasion may be transplantable to other nations. Likewise, a number of the technical solutions to administrative problems of both direct and indirect taxes can certainly and readily be adapted to conditions in a number of developing countries. Taxes and People in Israel comes as a welcome addition to a field which offers few critical, historical studies of the entire tax system of a country. It will be of considerable interest to tax administrators and ought to be read by every new head of a tax administration. It should also prove a valuable source to public administrators, lawyers, sociologists, economists, and anyone concerned with giving fiscal advice to the developing countries. Condition: Very good / Good.

Keywords: Tax Administration, Israel, Taxpayer, Tax Amnesty, British Mandate, Palestine, Excise Duties, Stamp Duties, Real Property Taxes, Income Tax, Luxury Tax, Estate Tax, Revenue Administration, Tax Assessment, Tax Evasion, Defense Financing

ISBN: 9780674868502

[Book #81732]

Price: $100.00

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