This paper analyzes macroeconomic indicators that determine tax revenues in six Southeast Asian countries during 2008 – 2019. The estimation results are then used to predict the value of taxable capacity to construct the deal of tax effort. Using the FE model equipped with the Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, this study finds positive and significant effects of per capita income, manufacturing, and trade openness on the actual tax-to-GDP ratio and tax effort. In contrast, inflation is considered a different determinant because of its insignificant effect on the two measures of tax performance. In addition, the authors also classify countries into three other groups based on the actual level of tax revenue and the effort put into collecting taxes. The benchmarks used to rank countries are all sample countries’ median substantial tax revenue and the tax effort index 1. Regardless of the classification, several policy implications are offered to increase tax collection productivity by focusing on the revenue bases used in the estimation model. Keywords: Tax Revenue, Tax Capacity, Tax Effort, Southeast Asia, Panel DataJEL: H2, O1, O2

This study analyzes the factors that are thought to affect tax revenues. The data used in this study is panel data involving seven ASEAN countries for 2009 -2015. The Hausman test was carried out to determine the estimation model correctly, and the results revealed that the fixed-effects model was preferred. Based on the fixed-effects model's estimation results, this study finds that per capita income, the industrial sector's contribution in GDP, and trade liberalization have a significant and positive effect on tax revenue. In contrast, inflation worsens the flow of tax revenues significantly. Based on the results of this study, we recommend several policies that can be taken to increase the productivity of tax revenues by focusing on those four macroeconomic factors.