Tax Policy Economists - Country Tax Policy Unit (several positions)

Company Description

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries, that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The OECD has earned a leading role in international tax issues. The Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA) is the focal point for the OECD’s work on all taxation issues, both international and domestic, and it works to advance the Strategic Orientations of the Secretary General, ensuring impact of the OECD tax work in the international governance architecture. The CTPA collaborates with other parts of the Organisation on issues such as the digitalisation of the global economy, tax and climate change, tax and inclusive growth, and the impact of taxation on labour markets and several other multidisciplinary projects. The CTPA also provides the analytical support to the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs, which consists of senior tax policy and administration officials from OECD countries, Associate and Partner countries and other international and regional tax organisations. It also supports the work of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), with more than 140 member countries and jurisdictions, and the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches.  Through its work, the CTPA enhances the OECD’s global role in standard-setting, building knowledge, communicating with the world and interacting with governments and stakeholders from around the world to inform and influence policy making in the tax area.

The Country Tax Policy Unit is part of the CTPA’s Tax Policy and Statistics Division, which is an inter-disciplinary team of economists, statisticians and policy analysts who are focused on providing internationally comparable tax statistics and delivering high-quality economic analysis and tax policy advice. The Country Tax Policy Unit focuses on country-specific tax policy analysis and brings together the different streams of tax policy work in a comprehensive manner.

CTPA is looking for several Tax Policy Economists to contribute to the work on tax policy in OECD member and non-member countries, including domestic resource mobilisation through tax reform in developing and emerging economies. The Tax Policy Economist(s) will work on a broad range of topics, including general country tax policy analysis and advice, tax expenditures and incentives, tax and informality, social protection financing, presumptive tax regimes, health taxes, and other taxes and tax policy topics. The Tax Policy Economist(s) will contribute to the work on empirical tax policy analysis to assess country tax systems and present tax policy reform recommendations.

The selected candidate(s) will report to the Head of the the Country Tax Policy Unit in the CTPA’s Tax Policy and Statistics Division.

Job Description

Main Responsibilities

Tax policy analysis in developing and emerging countries

• Contribute to the tax policy analysis of countries’ tax systems. Benchmark tax systems and policies including by looking at the efficiency, effectiveness, simplicity and fairness of tax systems. Identify opportunities and constraints to tax reforms in individual countries. Formulate country-specific tax policy reform recommendations.

• Contribute to the work on financing social protection in low- and middle-income countries through tax and social security reform. Develop country-specific recommendations to increase the funding for social protection in ways that do not discourage formal sector employment and business activity.

• Assess tax expenditures in the personal income tax, corporate income tax and value added tax systems to assess revenue foregone and other effects based on different data sources and methodologies. Assist countries to improve their tax expenditure reports.

• Assess options for tax reforms and their impacts in a context of informal economy, taking into account linkages with avoidance, evasion, tax revenues, efficiency and equity.

• Review the design of health taxes in OECD and non-OECD member countries, with a particular focus on the design of tobacco taxes.