Building tax systems to foster better skills
by Pascal Saint-Amans Director, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Andreas Schleicher Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills Investing in skills is crucial for fostering inclusive economic growth and creating strong societies. In an increasingly connected world, skills are particularly important for citizens to get the most out of new forms of capital, such as big data and robotics . More and more, policy makers are recognising that rapid change in technologies and work practices mean that people will have to continually upgrade their skills throughout their lives . This new reality raises many questions for governments, firms and individuals, including: who is to pay for all these skills investments? In many OECD countries, student debt is rising , and in many others, public debts are persistently high. How can policy makers decide on the right financing mix for students and governments? This is where taxes have an important role to play. In a nutshell, deliv...