The Political Dynamics of Taxation in Latin America: Current Reforms and Comparative Perspectives

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Tax systems are profoundly political phenomena, in that they reflect the power and preferences of different societal actors. Research on Latin America has increasingly recognized this fact by exploring the political dynamics of taxation. This panel offers papers by scholars at the cutting edge of this trend. Three of them will analyze recent, wide-ranging tax reforms in Chile, Colombia and Mexico, respectively. A fourth will examine the roots of the tremendous variation in the magnitude of the tax burden among the region’s most prosperous countries. The final paper will compare the social coalitions underpinning fiscal structures in two vast countries, Brazil and India.

Sub Track

• States, Markets, and Political Economy

Chair

• Gabriel A Ondetti, Missouri State University

Individual Presentations

• Chile’s 2014 Tax Reform: Breaking with the Past? - Tasha A Fairfield, London School of Economics

• The Politics of Fiscal Reform in Colombia - Gustavo A Flores-Macias, Cornell University

• Mexico’s 2013 Tax Reform and its Congressional Approval Process: What is the Role of Congress in the Mexican Tax System? - Mónica Unda Gutiérrez, ITESO - Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara

• Class Actors and the Politics of Light Taxation in Mexico - Gabriel A Ondetti, Missouri State University

• States and Social Forces: Tax, Spending, and the Social Coalitions Supporting Brazilian and Indian Development - Aaron M Schneider, University of Denver

Discussant

• James E Mahon, Williams College