Designing a comprehensive methodology for your research on "the effect of tax reform on domestic revenue mobilization and tax compliance" involves several steps. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you:
Research Question and Objectives:Clearly define your research question, e.g., "What is the impact of tax reform measures on domestic revenue mobilization and tax compliance?" Outline the specific objectives you aim to achieve through your research.
Literature Review:Conduct a thorough review of existing literature related to tax reform, revenue mobilization, and tax compliance. Identify key theories, concepts, and empirical studies relevant to your research topic. This will help you understand the current state of knowledge and identify gaps in the literature.
Hypotheses or Research Framework:Based on the literature review and your research question, develop hypotheses or a research framework that will guide your analysis. For example:H1: Tax reforms positively affect domestic revenue mobilization. H2: Tax reforms improve tax compliance rates.
Data Collection:Determine the data you need to test your hypotheses or research framework. Data sources may include government reports, tax revenue statistics, tax policy documents, surveys, or other relevant datasets. Consider both qualitative and quantitative data to get a comprehensive understanding.
Data Analysis:Based on the nature of your data, choose appropriate statistical or analytical methods. Common techniques include regression analysis, difference-in-differences, panel data analysis, and content analysis for qualitative data. Apply these methods to test your hypotheses or explore patterns in the data.
Variables and Indicators:Identify the key variables and indicators relevant to your research question. For example, variables like tax revenue, tax rates, tax compliance rates, GDP growth, etc. Ensure that your indicators are reliable, valid, and directly aligned with your research objectives.
Sample Selection:Define the population or universe that your research covers, and then determine the appropriate sampling technique to select a representative sample. This step is especially crucial if you cannot access the entire population.
Ethical Considerations:Ensure that your research adheres to ethical principles, especially if it involves human subjects or sensitive data. Obtain necessary approvals or permissions from relevant authorities if required.
Data Validation and Reliability:Validate the data you've collected to ensure its accuracy and reliability. This step is essential to ensure the credibility of your findings.
Discussion of Limitations:Clearly outline the limitations of your study. Every research has limitations, and acknowledging them demonstrates the transparency of your work.
Policy Implications:Discuss the potential policy implications of your findings. Analyze how your results can inform future tax reforms or improvements in tax compliance strategies.
Conclusion:Summarize your findings and their implications concisely. Revisit your research question and discuss whether your hypotheses were supported.
Recommendations for Further Research:Suggest areas for further research based on the gaps and limitations identified in your study.
Report Writing:Prepare a well-structured research report that includes an abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. Follow the appropriate citation style.
Presentation:Prepare a presentation to effectively communicate your research findings to your audience.
Remember to adapt these steps to the specific requirements of your academic institution or research context. Conducting thorough and well-organized research will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the effect of tax reform on domestic revenue mobilization and tax compliance.
Dear Abdul Rahim, if I understand, you want to measure the impact of reforms on either behavior and/or revenue impact.
If that is the case, I think the final target of the reform should be measured against the counterfactual. For instance, if the reform was on VAT, say e-invoicing in the whole tax system, I think the simplest method would be to gather total VAT payments maybe a year (depending on when you want to measure) and then compare with VAT payment before the reform, to check % increase.
Same with behaviour, for EG, how many people used to file returns before the last date on average, and how many used to default, after the reform was introduced. With such available data, i think it is easier to measure the impact of such reform on overall compliance. You can also plot on a timeline graph for better visualisation. Hope this helps.
The standard approach to the analysis of tax law changes lies in the application of microeconomic tax simulation models. If one wants to take into account the longer-term behavioral adjustments in relation to tax avoidance and tax evasion, which also determine the possible future tax revenue, behavioral functions must be integrated into these standard approaches. However, this often fails due to a lack of data for such approaches. See the following publications: