Tax Expenditures in OECD Countries

The use of tax expenditures by governments is pervasive and growing. At a time when many government budgets are threatened by population ageing and adverse cyclical developments, there is a pressing need to avoid inefficient government programmes, some of which may utilise tax expenditures.
This book sheds light on the use of tax expenditures, mainly through a study of ten OECD countries: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. This book will help government officials and the public better understand some of the technical and policy issues behind the use of tax expenditures. It highlights key trends and successful practices, and addresses a broad range of government finance issues, including tax policy making, tax and budget efficiency, fiscal responsibility and rule making.
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Introduction
This chapter gives a brief introduction and history of tax expenditures. It begins by attempting to define tax expenditures then proceeds to discuss the different types of tax expenditures. There is a short discussion on the different ways to measure them. It then gives several concrete examples of tax expenditures in different countries. It concludes by discussing some of the controversy concerning tax expenditures.
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