Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) suffers from chronically low rates of investment, which hurts economic growth. Since high taxes on corporations disincentivize firms´ investments, an important policy question is whether the region should reduce taxation on corporate profits. A first step in answering this question is to analyze how high the tax burden is on corporate … [Read more...] about Should Latin America and the Caribbean Countries Cut Taxes on Corporate Profits to Stimulate Investment and Growth?
Taxes
Tax Administration 3.0: IDB open-source software leverages digital accounting data to facilitate and increase compliance
Digital transformation is changing how government agencies relate to citizens, allowing them to meet their constituents' needs faster, fairer, and more transparently. One promising area for governments is the creation of Tax Administrations 3.0 by using digital technologies to provide a more seamless and frictionless service for citizens and firms[1]. Tax administrations … [Read more...] about Tax Administration 3.0: IDB open-source software leverages digital accounting data to facilitate and increase compliance
Advances in the new international taxation and challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean
In the fourth quarter of 2021, 137 countries reached a ground-breaking agreement on the reform of international aspects of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) within the OECD-coordinated Inclusive Framework (IF) on BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting). Thirty-one of these are Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, and they are currently working to ensure that the voluntary … [Read more...] about Advances in the new international taxation and challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean
Four Strategies to Make Tobacco Taxation an Effective Tool to Reduce Consumption
Fiscal policy has a key role in reducing tobacco use. According to the WHO FCTC, raising taxes has been one of the most effective measures by far. This is because an increase in taxes, directly affects the price, which in turn makes tobacco products less affordable. Pricier tobacco products have the positive effect of reducing tobacco initiation, prevalence, and consumption. … [Read more...] about Four Strategies to Make Tobacco Taxation an Effective Tool to Reduce Consumption
Revisiting Personalized VAT: A Tool for Fiscal Consolidation with Equity
The economic contraction tracked by the COVID-19 pandemic has created large fiscal imbalances that will lead Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) governments to pursue fiscal consolidation policies to increase revenues and reduce expenditures. In the tax realm, questions inevitably arise as to the adequacy of tax revenues and the equity of the proposed measures. That calls for … [Read more...] about Revisiting Personalized VAT: A Tool for Fiscal Consolidation with Equity