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ISSN 1684-9833 • Year 3 / No.21 /November 16, 2012

The Executive Secretariat Informs

The Executive Secretariat Informs 5th. CIAT Contest on Innovation in the Tax Administrations Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes III International Seminar of State Tax Administrators was successfully held SIATE 2012 First OECD Global Forum on VAT Visit of ITC Sectorial Projects Manager to the CIAT Executive Secretariat Officials and cooperation experts meeting to discuss Central American Public Finances The Tax Administrations Inform Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela SENIAT exceeded by 38.12 per cent the collection goal for October Chile - electronic tax documents issued in Chile exceed one billion Honduras - President Porfirio Lobo Sosa swears in new chief of DEI Jamaica - Tax Village Provides Support for Many Taxpayers Panama – Collection reaches a total of B/. 4,741.5 million in ten months, and current income increase by 18.3% Paraguay – Taxation specifies scope of IIT Peru – Distinguished national and international tax specialists participated in national juridical meeting Peru - main taxpayers are obliged to keep electronic records starting on January 2013 South African - Minister Pravin Gordhan on election of SARS Senior Executive Kosie Louw as Chair of the Global Forum on Transparency Uruguay – Very positive collection performance in the months of September and October IBFD News Post of the Month Training New in the Web Other Documents

5th. CIAT Contest on Innovation in the Tax Administrations The Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations announces the “Fifth CIAT Contest on Innovation in the Tax Administrations”. Entries may be sent until December 15, 2012.

The purpose of this annual contest is to recognize and promote improvement and creativity in the tax administrations. It constitutes concrete evidence of the effect of innovation on their performance that ultimately results in greater public trust.

By highlighting exemplary ways of innovative performance of the tax administrations, the Program acts as a catalyst in continuous improvement for satisfying the constant demand faced by tax administrations of finding new and better ways for achieving their institutional objectives.

There will be awards for the best three innovations. The implementation of new practices in the tax administrations, especially after they reach greater levels of maturity, take into account varied aspects and frequently these practices contribute to improve efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in management.

To this end, innovation will be defined as a new process that may change or improve an existing one, and may cause a significant impact on the tax administration. An innovation may be large or small, originating a totally new process. Or simply, implement changes in an already established process, provided this change may have a significant impact that may be measured in qualitative or quantitative terms.

The Contest is only open to CIAT member countries National Tax Administrations.

The 2013 awards will be announced and presented at the General Assembly in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes On 26-27 October 2012, over 200 delegates from 80 jurisdictions and 10 international organisations and regional groups came together at the fifth meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum) in Cape Town, South Africa (Annex 1 provides a list of participants). The Global Forum welcomed the 10 new members which have joined since its last meeting, increasing the

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membership of the Global Forum to 116 members.

The Global Forum adopted and published a further 9 peer review reports and 3 supplementary reports, representing further progress in the finalisation of the Phase 1 review programme. Accordingly, the Global Forum discussed the expectations and challenges that member jurisdictions will face in the context of the Phase 2 reviews, which assess the practical implementation of the international standard on tax transparency and information exchange.

The Global Forum was also pleased to note the interest shown by a range of jurisdictions in signing the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, making it a key instrument for the exchange of tax information to the international standard.

Progress with the Peer Reviews The Global Forum adopted and published an additional 9 peer review reports. The progress with the peer reviews is also reflected in the Global Forum’s 2012 Annual Report “Tax Transparency, 2012: Report on Progress”, which was adopted by the Global Forum.

CIAT is a public international organization which groups the tax administrations of 39 countries, (31 Amarican countries, 5 European countries, 2 African countries and 1 Asian country), for the purpose of providing an integral service for the modernization of those administrations, by promoting their evolution, social acceptance and consolidation through the exchange of knowledge, experiences and the rendering of specialized technical assistance.

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After almost three years, most of the members have undergone their Phase 1 review, and the Global Forum has recently launched the first standalone Phase 2 reviews, which assess the practical implementation of the international standard on tax transparency and information exchange.

Members discussed the expectations and challenges for the Phase 2 reviews. The Global Forum members recognised the significance of Phase 2 reviews, which will eventually lead to ratings of jurisdictions on essential elements and an overall rating, and resolved to ensure that this sensitive exercise was conducted with equity, fairness and in a transparent manner.

Technical Assistance In response to a call from the G20, the Technical Assistance Coordination Platform was launched in February 2012. This platform, in the form of a secure website, is a tool to enhance coordination between providers of technical assistance in the field of tax transparency and information exchange, notably international organisations and development agencies and the recipient member jurisdictions. The Global Forum noted with satisfaction that the Coordination Platform has raised awareness of its work with these partners, providing them with access to relevant materials and alerting them to upcoming events and training seminars. However, the Coordination Platform has not yet reached its full potential, and all of the Global Forum’s partners agreed that it should be developed further.

In accordance with the guidelines that were adopted at last year’s Global Forum meeting in Paris, the Secretariat reported that over the last year, 58 requests for advisory services were received from 36 member jurisdictions.

The Global Forum also welcomed progress in respect of the pilot projects for assistance in Ghana and Kenya, and noted the new requests for project assistance from 9 other member jurisdictions. Recognising the increasing demand for assistance, in particular from its newer members, the international organisations and development agencies were called upon to take the lead in delivering such assistance.

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Evaluation exercise As indicated in its initial mandate, the Global Forum completed an evaluation exercise, which was adopted at the meeting. This exercise concludes that the establishment of a peer review mechanism and subsequent completion of reviews on 88 jurisdictions in three years, is a significant achievement. The output is significant not only in terms of number of reports, but in terms of concrete results which can be clearly identified across a wide range of jurisdictions. Transparency is improving, strict bank secrecy for tax purposes is disappearing and bearer shares are being eliminated or measures put in place to identify their owners. Further, the possibilities for exchanging information have increased dramatically, with more than 800 bilateral information exchange agreements signed since 2009 and more countries signing the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which is now open to a potentially worldwide membership. All of this will have a significant deterrent effect on tax evasion, and in the course of the Phase 2 reviews the Global Forum will examine the practical impact of these changes.

Future direction At its meeting in Paris in October 2011, Global Forum members agreed to extend the mandate until the end of 2015.

It was agreed that there should be a continuing role for the Global Forum in providing an essential framework for work on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. The Global Forum should further develop its monitoring role to ensure that the international standard is applied to the full extent by all jurisdictions. Its core focus should continue to be on the exchange of information. It should examine the Terms of Reference in the light of experience of the peer reviews and as the exchange of information environment continues to evolve. The Steering Group should further develop proposals in the light of the Global Forum’s discussions in Cape Town.

Next Steps Having considered its programme of work for the coming year, the Global Forum looked forward to the Phase 2 peer reviews, which will be a key focus of the Peer Review Group in 2013, together with the attribution of ratings for more than 50 jurisdictions that will have undergone Phase 2 or combined reviews by the autumn of that year. The Global Forum also recognised the continuing work that needed to be done with respect to the future direction of the Global Forum.

Official Photo Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes

The Global Forum agreed that its next meeting will take place in October-early November 2013, and looks forward to offers by member countries to host the meeting. Finally the Global Forum thanked the government of South Africa for its generous hospitality.

III International Seminar of State Tax Administrators was successfully held SIATE 2012 The third edition of the International Seminar of State Tax Administrators (SIATE) was held on November 9 and 10 of this year, in the city of Cuiabá, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, with the support of the Mato Grosso State government, the State Secretariat of Finance of Mato Grosso, the National Conference of Tax Coordinators and Administrators -ENCAT and the Inter- American Center of Tax Administrations - CIAT. Present in the opening of the seminar, among other high level authorities were the CIAT Executive Secretary, Márcio Verdi, the State Secretary of Finance of Mato Grosso, Marcel Cursi, the General Coordinator of ENCAT, Eudaldo

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Almeida de Jesus, the State Secretary of Finance of Maranhão and CONFAZ Coordinator, Claudio Trinchão, and the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of Revenues of the State of Mato Grosso, Nardeli Pires Rothebarth.

The purpose of the Seminar was to allow the officials of the Brazilian state tax administrations, the opportunity for exchanging national and international experiences as well as to learn about the best practices being implemented in CIAT member countries. The 1st edition of this seminar was held in 2010 in the city of San Luis, State of Maranhão and the second, in 2011, in the city of Salvador, Bahia.

This international approach opens the door to different practical applications of great interest and relevance for tax institutions. The main topic discussed on this occasion was: “Challenges for the TAs in times of crisis: What challenges must Tax Administrators face?”

The event was highly appreciated by the participants for the quality of the selected topics and guest speakers, commentators and moderators. Some of the international speakers who shared their experiences were: Rodolfo Bravo from the Internal Revenue Service of Chile, Maria del Carmen Perez of the Institute of Fiscal Studies of Spain, Luis Cremades, Head of the Spanish Mission at CIAT, Isabelle Gaëtan, Head of the French Mission at CIAT, Albert Aguilera and Jean Claude Hernandez, General Administrator of Public Finance and Head of the Regional Department of Public Finance in Guyana, respectively, both from the General Directorate of Public Finance of France, and Raul Zambrano, CIAT Technical Assistance Director.

The rapporteur of the event was the CIAT Director of Training and Human Talent Development, Maria Raquel Ayala Doval.

The agenda and presentations of the seminar may be found in the official website: III International Seminar of State Tax Administrators

Photo of the main table of the Seminar

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First OECD Global Forum on VAT The First OECD Global Forum on VAT was held in Paris on November 7-8, 2012. The CIAT Director for Planning and Institutional Development, Mr. Socorro Velazquez, represented the Executive Secretary at this event.

The primary objectives of this first Global Forum on VAT were: 1) offer an opportunity for sharing VAT policy analysis and experience, for identifying best practices and strengthening international co-operation among representatives from industrialized, emerging and developing countries; and, 2) discus concerns related to double taxation, unintended/non taxation, transfer pricing and exchange of information regarding VAT. There were over 200 participants from all corners of the world who represented ministries of finance, customs and tax administrations, private sector and international organizations.

In general the meeting was very informative to all. It was a good “hear and learn exercise.� Judging from the active participation and comments, participants were pleased with the discussions and the information provided. There were some discussions on VAT principles but these were kept within the context of the applicable presentation (e.g., if a country presented their system, reference would be made if it was based on the DESTINATION or ORIGIN principle).

Excellent presentations were made on comparative information that addressed country VAT rates, percent of GDP collected, etc. There were ample discussions on the administrative as well as the policy side of VAT. One opinion was that VAT should never be used to make social policy; simply collect the required legal amounts according to the tax laws, then redistribute accordingly through social programs.

The private sector presentations were also of much interest. These were made through the BIAC organization corporate representatives (e.g., Shell Oil, Time-Warner and others). The Time-Warner representative made a presentation on producing a movie in a particular country and VAT considerations. (Basically, make it anywhere where VAT is the lowest; you can always paint in the Eiffel Tower.) A strong point made by the private sector was that, at their business level, evasion or avoidance was not an objective. Their main interests were: 1) simplification; 2) a standard reporting process; and, 3) expeditious refunds on exports.

The subject of harmonization was addressed regarding the European Union. Currently, there is harmonization regarding reporting standards. However, not rates. The private sector officials voiced strong opinions regarding the need to look for common reporting standards throughout the world. The OECD International VAT/GST Guidelines were discussed at length. It appears that the greater majority of countries are adopting these guidelines. Under this topic, the need for a VAT treaty, limiting taxing rights, was also discussed.

In summary, it was a very good meeting with lots of beneficial information provided to country representatives. The delegate from Japan offered to host the 2nd Global Forum on VAT next year in Tokyo.

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Visit of ITC Sectorial Projects Manager to the CIAT Executive Secretariat Mr. Roland Von Frankenhorst, Sectorial Project Manager of the “International Tax Compact” (ITC), has visited the CIAT Secretariat on November 8 of this year, in order to meet with Mr. Gonzalo Arias, Director of Cooperation and International Taxation; Mr. Francisco Beiner, Director of Institutional Management and Operations; Mr. Miguel Pecho, Director of Tax Studies and Research and Ms. Monica Alonso, Cooperation Coordinator.

From left to right: Mr. Gonzalo Arias, Director of Cooperation and International Taxation (CIAT) and Mr. Roland Von Frankenhorst, Sectorial Project Manager of the “International Tax Compact” (ITC).

During the meetings, they discussed important cooperation activities, mainly focused on strengthening tax administrations in developing countries from Latin America and the Caribbean as well as from Africa.

These activities will be developed in January 2013 and focus mainly on the areas of international taxation, tax information exchange, electronic invoicing and tax evasion measurement.

Officials and cooperation experts meeting to discuss Central American Public Finances Officials from Finance Ministries and Tax Administrations, tax policy experts and representatives of the diplomatic corps in the region met on November 5 and 6, 2012, in the city of Antigua, Guatemala, to discuss tax challenges and best practices in public spending, transparency, revenue collection, and internal mobilization of tax resources in Central America. This activity was carried out as part of the seminar “Public Finance in Central America: Present Situation and Perspectives”, organized by the Public Finance Ministry of Guatemala, the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), the International Tax Compact (ITC), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI).

The seminar brought together 60 participants from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, as well as officials of international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and several non-governmental and business organizations working on issues related to public finances.

While Central America has improved its fiscal and social indicators in recent years, major challenges still remain in the social field and in strengthening anti-cyclical policies. In spite of recent improvements in income distribution, the region remains the most unequal in the world.

In this context, the discussion addressed key issues on fiscal policy in Central America, such as the expansion of fiscal space, public debt sustainability, structural fiscal balance, the challenges of carrying out political and tax administration reforms along with discussions on how to contribute to the quality and transparency of public expenditures.

From left to right: Ricardo Barrientos, ICEFI, Juan Alberto Fuentes, ECLAC, Maria Castro, Deputy Finance Minister of Guatemala, Thomas Schaefer, German Ambassador, Hans Wollny, Ministry of Development, Germany, and Francisco J. Beiner, CIAT.

The seminar highlighted the progresses of tax reforms in the region and concluded that it is

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essential to prioritize social expenditure and strengthen tax administrations. It was stressed that, on a regional level, further strengthening of regional integration and economic policies is a priority to contribute to the common good.

In addition to external problems, it was stated that Central American societies must overcome several challenges at national level, such as generating fiscal space through reforms aimed at sustainable growth with equity, strengthening the political commitment of authorities to fight corruption, promoting budget transparency and improving the quality of public expenditure.

In this regard, participants emphasized the importance of international cooperation, exchange of knowledge and information as well as greater coordination between all parties involved, including the private sector and the civil society.

To support this work, the International Tax Compact reiterated its commitment to cooperate with CIAT, ECLAC and the countries of the region. The next regional exchange will take place on November 22 and 23 in Montevideo, organized by these three organizations, the General Tax Directorate of Uruguay and the Center for Fiscal Studies.

The Tax Administrations Inform Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela - SENIAT exceeded by 38.12 per cent the collection goal for October At the closing of the month of October, the National Integrated Customs and Tax Administration Service (SENIAT) reported that it had reached 138.12 percent of the collection goal set for said month.

The Superintendent, José David Cabello Rondón, reported that the three main sources of collection, namely: Income Tax (IT), Value Added Tax (VAT) and customs duties exceeded the 100 per cent collection compliance goal, established by the Ministry of Planning and Finance Popular Power.

Pablo Pinto Chávez Correspondent

Chile - electronic tax documents issued in Chile exceed one billion Of invoices issued in the country, 46% are electronic. Eighty two percent of all users are micro and small businesses which use the free electronic invoicing application available in the SII Mipyme website.

The use of electronic tax documents (ETD) has been steadily increasing in Chile since the IRS launched the era of digital invoicing in 2003. Nine years later, in October 2012, the accumulated number of DTEs amounted to 1.002.631.555, which constitutes a milestone that confirms the acceptance of this format which replaces the paper, with the same fiscal and legal validity.

In October alone, ETDs hit a record of 20,511,072 issuances, the highest monthly figure ever recorded.

Bernardita Moraga Correspondent

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Honduras - President Porfirio Lobo Sosa swears in new chief of DEI This is the university professor Mario Alberto Lopez Stainer, who will be assisted by members of the presidential commission the DEI manager, Jorge Yllescas and Roberto Jerez.

President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, was sworn in the Presidential Palace, the new head of the Directorate of Revenue (DEI), Mario Alberto Lopez Stainer.

Grace de La Paz Saravia Correspondent

Jamaica - Tax Village Provides Support for Many Taxpayers The Constant Spring Revenue Service Centre (RSC) yesterday November 7, 2012 hosted over 100 taxpayers at its tax village, staged to target small business persons, entrepreneurs and the general public under the theme “Empowering Small Businesses for Growth”.

The “Tax Village” was an initiative of the Constant Spring RSC to engage the small business community and entrepreneurs, to help them understand their rights, responsibilities and how the tax authority is making it easier for them to do business. The event was supported by booth holders for several corporate entities Meris Haughton Correspondent

Panama – Collection reaches a total of B/. 4,741.5 million in ten months, and current income increase by 18.3% Current income accrued until October 2012 reach a total of B/. 4741.5 million, representing an increase of B/. 733.7 million (18.3%) compared to the same period last year and a surplus of B/. 248.2 million (5.5%) in relation to the budget, according to preliminary figures from the General Directorate of Revenues (DGI).

The DGI director, Luis Cucalon, noted that “both comparative results originate from the extraordinary performance in tax collection that has generated a growth of B/. 775 million (25%) and a budgetary surplus of B/. 318.2 million (9%). He also stated that in less than four years, the DGI has collected more taxes than the cumulative amount during the previous eight years, since from 2001 to 2008 the collection was B/. 13,219.1 million, while from 2009 to October 2012 tax collection has been 13,773.6 million; a difference of B/. 554.5 million.

Paraguay – Taxation specifies scope of IIT The State Undersecretariat of Taxation of the Ministry of Finance issued general resolution Nº 83, which specifies the scope of Decree Nº 9371, whereby Individual Income Tax (IIT) is regulated, to thus allow for a correct interpretation, assessment and payment of the new tax. It also provides that the declarations must be exclusively filed via Internet.

The regulation also determines that for purposes of calculating the taxed income by taxpayers registered under IIT, those working in a dependency relationship must add up the taxed gross income which includes the obligatory social security contributions.

Elizabeth Fernández de Corrales Correspondent

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Peru – Distinguished national and international tax specialists participated in national juridical meeting The “IX National Juridical Meeting” was successfully held on October 4 and 5, with the participation of distinguished international and national speakers who shared their knowledge and experience regarding juridical issues of special relevance for the Peruvian Tax Administration.

Present in the inaugural ceremony of this event, whose main theme was “Reflections on current fiscal mechanisms”, was the National Customs and Tax Administration Superintendent, Tania Quispe Mansilla and other SUNAT high level authorities.

Clara Urteaga Correspondent

South African - Minister Pravin Gordhan on election of SARS Senior Executive Kosie Louw as Chair of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes On behalf of the South African government, I would like to congratulate the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and Mr Kosie Louw on his election as chairperson of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. He was elected at the forum’s meeting held in Cape Town on Friday and Saturday last week and will hold the post for two years from the beginning of 2013.

I am certain that the two years of South Africa’s (SA) chairmanship will be beneficial not only to the forum but also to the wider global tax administration community. South Africa, the first African chair of the forum, takes over the post of the forum chair from Australia.

The position of forum chair is especially important because the forum’s current mandate expires in 2015, and it is during SA’s tenure that a decision must be made on the best way to take the work of the forum forward. SA’s tenure also coincides with very challenging times for tax administrations globally, especially when it comes to the exchange of information for tax purposes.

Optimum transparency and exchange of information are critical for improving tax compliance and increasing the prospects of revenue collection at a time when most countries face fiscal constraints. International cooperation among tax administrations is vital in an era of rapid movement of money and people across borders.

The global forum plays a key role in promoting tax cooperation and the exchange of information among revenue authorities, and it feeds into the work of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the G20 on improving transparency on tax matters. The forum is the largest consensus-based organisation working to facilitate the exchange of tax information between jurisdictions, an important step towards an end to secrecy.

South Africa fully supports the work of the forum whose peer review report ‘reflects a very good practice in exchange of information.’

With a current membership of 116, the forum is in a position to have a significant impact on how jurisdictions cooperate, not only in terms of transparency of information, but putting in more effort to ensure that taxes are collected and used in a way that improves the lives of the citizens of those jurisdictions.

Speaking at the Forum in Cape Town last Friday, I said that the forum members must ensure the integrity and sustainability of tax systems around the globe. Governments have an obligation to create an environment conducive to economic growth and job creation – and to ensure that the benefits that come from that growth are shared broadly. If this does not happen, we will be responsible for creating more inequality.

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Uruguay – Very positive collection performance in the months of September and October TCollection results in September and October, as well as the cumulative amount through October was very positive.

Total gross collection in real terms in September 2012 as compared to September 2011 showed a variation of -0.5%; while collection from the private sector increased 2.9%.

On the other hand, for the month of October 2012, total gross collection in real terms, as compared with October 2011, showed an 8.4% variation, while collection from the private sector increased 11.5%.

Margarita Faral Correspondent

IBFD News International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) Cooperation-CIAT - IBFD

This section includes a selection of the IBFD news about aspects of tax policies and tax administration. This information is available on the CIAT website and in Fridays Tax News alert.

Post of the Month Tax Treaties in Latin America 12 November 2012 Written by: Miguel Pecho

As we do on a regular basis, we have just updated the information on Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAs) and on Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) signed by CIAT member countries in Latin America.

This time, the update was until October 31. Not only the update but the information has been improved with data on treaties that are no longer applied and those that were renegotiated.....read more

The distortion regarding the purpose of taxes in Spain

12 November 2012 Written by María Goenaga Ruiz de Zuazu The current situation makes it difficult to attempt to “defend” taxes in Spain given that, in my opinion, their purpose and need have been completely distorted with the latest measures taken by the Government. However, and from a sociological point of view, I feel the “obligation” to try to express why there is a generalized annoyance in society.... read more

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President Correa proposes a new tax reform in Ecuador

12 November 2012 Written by Fernando Herrero There are two main groups of proposed measures: those that amend the taxes applied to the financial sector and those that simplify the tax system....read more

Training Announcement of Course Given the importance we attribute to continued training in order that tax professionals may be fully updated on tax administration, customs and human resources issues we are announcing the following course: •

Course on Human Resources Management 2nd.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the registration form and send it to capacitacion@ciat.org, along with the rest of the requirements.

New in the Web New in the section of Tax treaties The Tax Studies and Research Directorate updated through October 31, 2012, information on the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAs) and Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) in force in the CIAT member countries of Latin America. In addition, more detailed information has been added regarding treaties that no longer apply, as well as those that were renegotiated.

Other Document Tax Reforms in EU Member States

Tax Policy Challenges for Economic Growth and Fiscal Sustainability Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs European Commission Working Paper No.34 – 2012 The 2012 edition of the report ‘Tax reforms in EU Member States’ intends to contribute to the tax policy debate in the EU. Following the successful 2011 edition, the report consists of two parts: i) a short analysis of tax revenue data and an overview of recent tax reforms in Member States, and ii) a discussion of selected up-to-date tax policy topics in the form of two analytical chapters.

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“Reforma Fiscal en América Latina. ¿Qué Fiscalidad para qué Desarrollo?”

Tax Reform in Latin America. What Taxation for what Development?

Alicia Bárcena and Narcís Serra Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean September 2012

The economic growth experienced in recent years in Latin America has progressively allowed achieving a solid fiscal situation in the region, despite the enormous differences between countries. The increase in tax revenue, the better conditions for accessing the international credit market, as well as greater effectiveness of public spendings, have resulted in more comprehensive and solid tax bases. However, a detailed analysis reflects how the pillars supporting the tax system in the region continue to be an important part of the gear that feeds the persistent economic and social inequality characteristics of the territory (available in spanish).

Central American Fiscal Policy in Times of Crises Executive Summary ICEFI - Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales October 2012

This document analyzes the main components of fiscal policy adopted by the Central American countries in the 2000-2010 decade, which includes the events during and following the 2008 global economic crisis.