Handbook of Public Administration, 3rd Edition

Chapter 23Designing and Administering Revenue Systems

Yilin Hou

The design of revenue systems is crucial to finance government operations; so is the administration of the systems to ensure timely and full collection of planned revenues to support smooth provision of public services. Problems in the design and administration are costly, with dire consequences, as recent cases (Greece at the national level and Detroit at the local level) have illustrated. This chapter reviews and offers insights into the design, administration, and evaluation of revenue systems for governments in general. The discussion focuses on generic governments but also touches on different levels (central, subnational, and local) and types (general versus special purpose) ...