Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, ranking 146 out of 177 on the United Nations Human Development Index. The country has one of the lowest tax revenue-to-GDP ratios in the world (10.1 percent in 2005). To address these challenges, the authorities are requesting a...

This article is an empirical analysis on tax collections in the Philippines. The tax system is characterized by a rule of tax incentives provided by 13 investment agencies. Tax collections showed regular growth. The GDP ratio increased from 12.1 percent (2009) to 12.8 percent (2012), but the...

This paper discusses key findings of the Ex Post Assessment of Longer-Term Program Engagement for Mongolia. The paper assesses Mongolia’s progress in implementing its transition to a market economy, economic stabilization, and reform programs supported by the IMF during 1991–2004,...

The economic outlook remains clouded by regional and domestic security concerns. Real GDP growth and inflation were broadly in line with program projections in 2001–02. The balance of payments position unproved faster than expected. The budget deficit target for 2001–02 (as set...

The staff report for the First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility on Georgia highlights economic developments and policies. Growth has remained robust and inflation subdued against the backdrop of steady remonetization. Rapid growth in fiscal...

Public sector revenue has declined markedly in the Philippines over the past seven years. Most observers of the Philippine economy agree that rebuilding public sector revenue will be critical to reducing deficits and ensuring public sector debt sustainability. This paper reviews several of the...

This paper examines a typology of grants that are used across the world, and places these in the context of the overall constitutional and legal framework for a country. It looks at the options for grants, given the need to maintain overall macroeconomic stability, efficiency in the use of...

In many countries the decentralization of spending responsibilities has outpaced the decentralization of revenue powers. Sub-national governments have then to rely on transfers from the center and borrowing to finance their spending. When this occurs, we find that the overall fiscal deficit...

São Tomé and Príncipe is very open and highly depends on imports resulting in high indirect tax revenue. At the same time, the production and export base are very narrow, leaving the authorities with a small domestic tax base. For these reasons, the country compares unfavorably with...

We study historical tax revenue downturn episodes—where tax revenue-to-GDP ratios decline sharply—and explore the link between tax revenues and imports. We document that downturn episodes of at least 1 percentage point of GDP in one year are common. The tax types that account for...