Tax introduction database (TID)

Abstract

The Tax Introduction Dataset (TID) consists of data on the year of the first permanent introduction at the national level of government of six major taxes, as well as on the top statutory tax rate for that year. The six taxes are the personal income tax (PIT), the corporate income tax (CIT), the inheritance tax (INH), compulsory social security contributions (SSC), the general sales tax (GST), and the value added tax (VAT). The dataset covers 220 former and current countries worldwide. Countries are independent states with full sovereignty over domestic and fiscal affairs that existed at any point between 1750 and 2018. For each country the dataset reports whether the tax introduction was preceded by the introduction of the same tax at the subnational level. For each country that did not introduce a tax, the dataset reports whether the country inherited that tax from its historical predecessor (i.e. from a colonial power or other state that the country historically gained its independence from) or was simply never introduced. Each entry is linked to a source. Wherever possible, contextual information is provided in a comment section accompanying each data entry.