| Resumen: |
The macroeconomic performance of Latin America and the Caribbeanduring the first decade of the new Millennium was remarkable. During
2000-2008, the average annual GDP growth in the region was 4.3%, a
much larger figure than the growth rates obtained in the previous four
decades. In 2009, as a result of the financial crisis, there was a decline of
around 2%, but the region rebounded after that with an average growth
rate close to 6% in 2010, and rates higher than 4% in 2011 and 2012.
One of the main impacts of those macroeconomic achievements
occurred on social indicators. According to ECLAC, the incidence of
poverty decreased in the region from 48.4% in 1990 to 31.4% in 2010,
while extreme poverty decreased from 22.6 to 12.3 percent during the
same period. Furthermore, income inequality also showed significant
improvements across most countries in the region. Even more
remarkable, by 2010 the region as a whole had met over 80% of the goals
set in the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
Those achievements were not only the result of that economic growth,
but also of the expansion of social spending, the increase in coverage of
social policies and the establishment of human capital investment
schemes. Nevertheless, deep social disparities still prevail in the region,
and there is no way to solve that problem without strengthening the tax
systems, in order to allow for higher levels of social spending. Indeed,
the tax effort in the region is very low: in 2010 the average tax burden
was only 16.7% of GDP. Furthermore, the tax structure is quite
regressive for international standards: on average, the consumption tax
collection almost doubles the income tax revenue.
Is there any space to have new tax reforms in the region? If so, what
are the most adequate reforms in terms of their impacts on tax collection
and social welfare? The answers to these questions depend on thespecific characteristics of each country. For instance, Guatemala has a
per capita income level almost four times smaller than Mexico’s, but the
tax burden is quite similar in both countries (excluding oil revenue in the
case of the latter); on the other hand, the tax system in Guatemala is
much more regressive than in Mexico. |
