Impact of the Revenue Reform on the Vulnerable Communities in Tonga
type: CreativeWork
description: The Kingdom of Tonga is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in the South Pacific with a population of 100,745. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy and has never been colonised. Tonga's local economy relies on subsistence farming and fishing. Remittances continue to be the primary source of income, courtesy of relatives abroad. More recently, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in New Zealand and Seasonal Work Programme (SWP) in Australia have become another important income source, especially for vulnerable families. Foreign aid is another key income source that supplements tax revenues to fund development projects. Economic turmoil and mismanagement during the late 1990s forced the government to seek technical and financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank to undertake a comprehensive Economic and Public Sector Reform (EPSR) programme. The weak economic situation presented overwhelming financial challenges for the government. In February 2005, I was a member of a team of technical advisors contracted to advise and support the Tongan Government. Our main goal was to support the Minister of Finance and staff from the Revenue Services Department with the revenue reform programme. This programme was part of the EPSR strategy developed by donor agencies in consultation with the government. This thesis evaluates the impact of the revenue reform on the vulnerable people and communities in Tonga. I interviewed two participant cohort groups. Participant group one consisted of 51 people representing the vulnerable communities. Participants were selected using key informants from the rural villages of Tongatapu and residents of the outer Islands. Vulnerable communities in Tonga are not to be equated with rural villages and outer islands per se because there are vulnerable communities and households in Tonga’s urban areas too. In this study, rural communities were the primary focus of the field work exploring impacts of the EPSR programme, and especially …
abstract: The Kingdom of Tonga is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in the South Pacific with a population of 100,745. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy and has never been colonised. Tonga's local economy relies on subsistence farming and fishing. Remittances continue to be the primary source of income, courtesy of relatives abroad. More recently, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in New Zealand and Seasonal Work Programme (SWP) in Australia have become another important income source, especially for vulnerable families. Foreign aid is another key income source that supplements tax revenues to fund development projects. Economic turmoil and mismanagement during the late 1990s forced the government to seek technical and financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank to undertake a comprehensive Economic and Public Sector Reform (EPSR) programme. The weak economic situation presented overwhelming financial challenges for the government. In February 2005, I was a member of a team of technical advisors contracted to advise and support the Tongan Government. Our main goal was to support the Minister of Finance and staff from the Revenue Services Department with the revenue reform programme. This programme was part of the EPSR strategy developed by donor agencies in consultation with the government. This thesis evaluates the impact of the revenue reform on the vulnerable people and communities in Tonga. I interviewed two participant cohort groups. Participant group one consisted of 51 people representing the vulnerable communities. Participants were selected using key informants from the rural villages of Tongatapu and residents of the outer Islands. Vulnerable communities in Tonga are not to be equated with rural villages and outer islands per se because there are vulnerable communities and households in Tonga’s urban areas too. In this study, rural communities were the primary focus of the field work exploring impacts of the EPSR programme, and especially …
author: Fakahau, Tony
keywords: Tonga, Revenue reform, Tax, Vulnerable, Economics, Communities, Small island development state, Economic turmoil, Economic development
date published: 2020
date modified: 2026-07-27T18:46:09Z
provider: AUT University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: AUT University