Administrative tax reform and the duration of tax returns in the OECS

This paper represents the first fruits of research into the impact of administrative tax reform on the duration of tax returns in Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, both members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Specifically, it attempts to answer the following question: “Have their been any improvements in the time taken for individuals to submit their tax returns over the five year-period 1991-1995?” This is important because Dominica and St. Vincent have spent large sums of money in reducing the lags in processing tax information and would like to ascertain whether these changes have been successful. The first objective of the paper therefore, is to introduce the specific methodology of duration analysis to economic research in the region. As such, the paper utilizes models and techniques which are sufficiently simple for illustration purposes while remaining sufficiently powerful to answer questions on tax duration. Our second objective will be to investigate whether or not these models reveal a pattern (improvement or deterioration) in the time taken to submit tax returns in Dominica and St. Vincent.