Sustainable Taxation and The Challenges of AchievingSustainable ‎Development in Developing Countries

  • Authors

    • Alshujairi Mohammed Huweish A. Prof., PhD., CPA, Department of Accounting, Aliraqia University, Baghdad, Iraq
    • Alkurtani Khaldoun Salman M.‎ PhD., Department of Accounting, Aliraqia University, Baghdad, Iraq
    • Saleh Ammar Abdelqader PhD., Center of Research and Islamic Studies, Aliraqia University, Baghdad, Iraq
    https://doi.org/10.14419/dba1zc60

    Received date: October 9, 2025

    Accepted date: November 24, 2025

    Published date: December 20, 2025

  • Sustainable Taxation Systems; Sustainable Development; Voluntary Sustainability Tax (VSTs); Developing ‎Countries

  • Abstract

    This paper explored how modern tax theory conceptualizes the role of taxation in achieving sustainable ‎development through a critical analysis of contemporary tax frameworks, which have remained the subject of ‎considerable academic and policy debate. The paper highlighted the limited capacity of existing sustainable tax ‎systems to make a meaningful contribution to sustainable development initiatives. It also analyzed the problems ‎and challenges confronting tax systems in developing countries, which create additional obstacles beyond those ‎experienced by developed nations.‎

    The paper further examined the specific difficulties that developing countries have encountered in aligning their ‎tax systems with the Sustainable Development Goals. These nations not only shared common global challenges ‎but also grappled with additional, localized obstacles rooted in economic, social, and environmental instability. ‎In response, the paper proposes Voluntary Sustainability Taxes (VSTs) as a potential mechanism for addressing ‎the key barriers that impede sustainable development, particularly within the context of developing economies.‎

    Recognizing the complex crises that had affected these nations, the study argued for the diversification of tax ‎structures to include nontraditional, incentive-based tools. It concluded by analyzing the theoretical and ‎practical justifications for adopting VSTs and evaluating their potential to enhance the responsiveness of tax ‎systems to the imperatives of sustainable development.

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    A. , A. M. H. ., M.‎ , A. K. S. ., & Abdelqader , S. A. . (2025). Sustainable Taxation and The Challenges of AchievingSustainable ‎Development in Developing Countries. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 12(8), 673-686. https://doi.org/10.14419/dba1zc60