Browsing by Author "Reyes, Kenneth S."
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Item Restricted Tariff protection and comparative advantage: Philippine fisheries(2015-12) Reyes, Kenneth S.; de Dios, Emmanuel S.This paper explores several aspects of the Philippine tax system during the American colonial period. It draws attention to the tax structure's mismatch with the Philippine economy following its design 'from above'. Among the key findings of this paper are the following. First, the tax structure was likely not very elastic with respect to import value. The largest revenue source, import duties, is shown to have responded to nominal imports very weakly, suggesting the relative importance of fixed over ad valorem rates. Second, the internal revenue structure was an attempt by the Americans to bring their own system to the Philippines, regardless of whether it suited the colony or not. This led to a narrower tax base than would have prevailed had they designed the structure to suit the Islands' economy. Third, the fiscal decentralization program of the Americans bears striking similarities to the similar program enacted by the Local Revenue Code of 1991. The key difference is that the internal-revenue allotment (IRA) scheme in the American version came to be fixed at nominal levels, leading to a greater reliance on ad hoc subnational transfers among local governments. These analyses are supported by primary data compiled from government reports, the most salient of which are documented in the appendices for use in future research.