Appropriate tax administration

A soft touch with an eagle eye from the top is the best approach

At a discussion at the London School of Economics led by the recently retired head of the UK tax department—Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)—interesting observations were made with lessons to be learnt. The central question relates to what a successful public service is in the context of taxation.

Thus, the outcome of a good tax administration reflects three fundamental components: Tax determination, computation, and payment.  Associated questions immediately arise. Since tax determination necessarily requires information, who will be responsible for ob­tai­ning information? Since computation requires knowledge, on whom will it depend, who will ve­rify it, and what if there is