Performance Measurement for Tax Administrations: The Case of Slovenia
| Date | 01 September 2004 |
| Author | Maja Klun |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852304046210 |
| Published date | 01 September 2004 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Performance measurement for tax administrations: the case
of Slovenia
Maja Klun
Abstract
Reforming the public sector has meant changes in tax administration. Yet tax
reform in most countries has overlooked administrative improvements and
focused instead on changing tax rates, addressing the economic efficiency of the
tax system and developing new forms of taxation. The literature does not offer
any common definitions for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of a tax
administration, presenting a piecemeal approach to its operations. This article
proposes a model for the comprehensive performance measurement of tax
administration and describes the use of this model in assessing the work of tax
administration in Slovenia. The assessment revealed a common problem with
measurements in transition countries, demonstrating that the tax administration is
only aware of weak points in areas assessed using indicators derived from data it
collects itself. This neglects soft indicators and work assessments assisted by
taxpayers. Evaluating work using indicators of this type has revealed the poor
functioning of the tax administration in several areas.
Introduction
The article presents a case study of a performance measurement method for a tax
administration. Since the literature does not offer a common definition for perform-
ance measurement of a tax administration system, the proposed model is an attempt
to measure performance across every field of a tax administration’s operation. The
literature includes partial approaches to the definition of an effective or efficient tax
administration. Some authors focus on tax evasion (i.e. Gnazzo, 1991; Tanzi and
Shome, 1993), others on voluntary compliance (i.e. Silvani, 1992), and others on costs
(Allers, 1994; Casanegra, 1997), etc. Although in the developed world, tax adminis-
trations are increasingly taking taxpayers’ opinions into account in assessing their
Maja Klun is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Copyright © 2004 IIAS, SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi)
Vol 70(3):567–574 [DOI:10.1177/0020852304046210]
International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
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