ISET

Sweden supports the ISET Policy Institute as independent economics think-tank

Details

ISET Policy Institute receives 12 600 000 SEK from Sweden for promoting Georgia’s development through independent policy analysis, training and civil society engagement. The agreement was signed today by Mr. Erik Illes, Head of Development Cooperation of the Embassy of Sweden, and President of Partnership for Economics Education and Research (PEER), Director of ISET Policy Institute Dr. Tamar Sulukhia. The agreement extends Sweden’s support for development of ISET-PI as independent economics think-tank from October 2019 to December 2021.

The ISET Policy Institute (ISET-PI) is an initiative of the PEER and International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET). It is a Georgian NGO, created in 2011 as a university-based think tank to complement ISET’s academic arm, translate economic research into policy advice, inform policymaking in both Georgia and the region.

A billion lari reform: what does ex-post RIA say about it?

Details

At the initiative of the Government of Georgia, a new model of corporate taxation was introduced in 2017. The so-called Estonian Model of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) reform envisaged a transition to a model wherein enterprises would only be taxed on profit distribution. The overall objective of the reform was to accelerate the country's economic growth through the elimination of retained earnings tax, as well as to create a conducive environment for business start-ups and improve tax administration. According to our estimates, it costs the state budget of Georgia more than 1bn Georgian Lari of forgone profit taxes.

The ISET Policy Institute has been engaged with the Budget and Finance Committee of the Parliament and PwC in the ex-post Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of the CIT reform, commissioned by the GIZ. The objective of the ex-post RIA was to provide interim assessment on the reform implementation; making sure the reform is on the right track achieving its defined objectives. On October 24 2019, a team of ISET, government and PwC researchers working on the project presented their findings at a high-level meeting attended by the Chair of Parliament, Mr. Archil Talakvadze, and the Chair of Budget and Finance Committee of the Parliament, Mr. Irakli Kovzanadze, as well as other guests.

Our Partners