Hunger for revenue is driving may tax authorities around the world to rely increasingly on indirect forms of taxation, such as a value-added tax or a goods and services tax.

A recent KPMG study of global tax trends found more than 150 countries around the world now have indirect tax systems—where taxes are paid based on consumption rather than income—and many of those countries are expanding the scope of goods and services that are subject to value-added taxes.

In Europe and in Latin America, rates for indirect taxes rose three-tenths of a percentage point in 2009, according to KPMG. The United States remains the only G-20 country that relies solely on an income tax rather than a consumption tax of some kind to fund the federal government, says Harley Duncan, managing director for state and local tax with KPMG.

KPMG also found that the steady decline seen in corporate tax rates worldwide came to a halt in 2009, with 86 percent of 116 countries holding rates steady from 2008 to 2009. In a handful of cases, countries increased the corporate income tax rate, KPMG said.

Corporate tax departments need to keep tabs on changing tax demands to assure their systems capture the proper data for compliance and to assure the impact on cash flow is understood, says Duncan. “Compliance is the overall goal and the primary aim of a value-added tax management function,” he says. “But the second thing is to make sure that the impact of these on the company’s finances and cash flow is minimal.”

Duncan says companies also need to look closely for refunds they may be due with respect to exports, to assure they’re not paying taxes they aren’t required to pay. “It’s primarily a compliance function to assure you’ve got the information necessary so you can comply,” he says.

As economic pressure mounts in the United States in particular, companies should pay close attention to dialogue about the prospect of a value-added tax at the federal level, Duncan says. The aging baby boomer population and concerns about health care and retirement costs may force the U.S. to consider some kind of consumption tax, he says.

“What is our revenue structure like compared with the rest of the world?” Duncan speculates. “We rely on an income tax and don’t have a federal consumption tax, but 150 countries around the world do. That would be a logical place to go.”