Estimation of Potential Economic Capacity of Taxation in Iran

Being aware of the determinants of tax capacity and the potential ability of the country to make use of this capacity is the key for any plans to increase tax revenues. In this article, a new specific definition of economic capacity of taxation has been given and on the basis of the information gathered from 20 different countries within the period1998-2006, the Iranian potential economic capacity of taxation has been estimated within the framework of panel data model. The results of the study show that the average economic capacity of taxes in Iran (excluding social security contributions) has been about 12.33 percent during the period in question. Therefore, it can be concluded that the actual performance of the country (7.1 percent) during the mentionedperiod has been quite low. In addition, the results of the study show that the tax effort index in Iran has been about 58 percent during the period under study.