OVERVIEW
The Executive Education program on Comparative Tax Policy and Administration (ComTax) brings together high-level practitioners from government, academia, and the private sector to examine the latest developments in the design and implementation of tax systems around the world. This ten-day program provides participants with practical tools – along with detailed examples of their application – to help formulate the most appropriate tax policies and tax administration for their particular environments.
Tax theory is relatively straightforward – the challenge of practice is to adapt basic principles to the complex variety of domestic and international economic, political, social, and historical constraints. ComTax utilizes a rigorous conceptual framework and draws on comparative tax experience to help participants reconcile the universal unpopularity of taxation with their desire to generate significant tax revenue in an economically efficient and social equitable manner. ComTax does not advance a unitary “best practice” model of taxation, but instead looks at which elements of a taxation scheme work best in addressing particular kinds of challenges.
The course connects participants with other high-level practitioners facing similar challenges, enabling them to share best practices among peers. The networks formed become an invaluable professional resource. Past participants report that professional and personal relationships with colleagues often continue long after they leave the Kennedy School.