This book describes the analysis that led to the reform of the Guatemalan tax system in 1992. It also describes the tax policy aspects to improve tax administration, budgeting and fiscal planning, and a training program in customs and tax administration.

As experience with decentralization has accumulated, perceptions of both the problems that often accompany decentralization and the best ways to deal with them have evolved. This book draws on experiences in developing countries to bridge the gap between the conventional textbook treatment of fiscal decentralization and the actual practice of subnational government finance. The extensive literature about the theory and practice is surveyed, and longstanding problems and new questions are a...

In this study of the structure of core city expenditures, Mr. Bahl analyzes the functional relationship between per capita expenditures and selected economic, demographic, and sociological factors. He finds that the problems central to intercity variations in per capita spending are directly related to the coordination of fiscal and physical planning and that economic and social areas, not corporate boundaries, represent the most appropriate planning units.Mr. Bahl extends the stat...