Mexico - Country Economic Memorandum : Challenges and Prospects for Tax Reform

Over the last ten years, the need for sustainable tax revenues has become clear, in order to provide more public expenditures in areas such as, poverty alleviation, health, education, and infrastructure, as well as for payment of the recent social security reform, and banking sector support. The report examines the key problems in Mexico's tax, and revenue system, identifying administration as the weakest factor in its tax system, where such weakness has contributed to political resistance in broadening the tax base. In addition, the system relies heavily on oil revenues, only about thirty percent of the total, and dependent on world prices, thus, the rest of the economy will have to bear a larger tax burden as a share of GDP. Meanwhile, various exemptions, and special regimes erode the base of the most important taxes - Value Added Tax (VAT), corporate, and personal income taxes, and, most tax decisions, and the derived political consequences, continue at the national level, while the delivery of services is increasingly devolved to sub-national levels. Within the reform options, the most relevant fall in three areas: national tax policy, administration, and inter-governmental fiscal relations, where the central theme is to improve revenue capacity, efficiency, and horizontal equity of the system, by simplifying laws, eliminating exemptions, and facilitating compliance, and enforcement. Such reform strategy will be successful if implemented in a coordinated way, by reducing evasion, and improving collection; by the already implemented income tax reform (end of 2001), although the VAT and petroleum taxation remain on the agenda for future action; and, by the State cooperation in the tax reform program, to improve enforcement, particularly the VAT.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: World Bank
Language:English
en_US
Published: Washington, DC 2002-07-30
Subjects:COUNTRY ECONOMIC WORK, TAX REFORMS, PUBLIC EXPENDITURES, TAX REVENUES, POVERTY ALLEVIATION MECHANISMS, HEALTH CARE DELIVERY, EQUITY IN EDUCATION, INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL SECTOR REFORM, SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEMS, BANKING SYSTEMS, SOCIAL SECURITY FINANCE, ADMINISTRATIVE CAPABILITY, POLITICAL CONSTRAINTS, TAX BASES, OIL REVENUES, TAX BURDENS, TAX EXEMPTION, VALUE ADDED TAXES, CORPORATE TAXATION, PERSONAL INCOME TAX, REFORM POLICY, FISCAL CONSOLIDATION, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTING, ADVERSE EFFECTS, AGRICULTURE, ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES, AUDITING, BANKING SECTOR, BASIC EDUCATION, BUDGET EXPENDITURES, BUDGET PROCESS, BURDEN OF TAXES, CAPITAL GAINS, CAPITAL MARKETS, CASH-FLOW, CITIZENS, CONSTITUTION, CONSUMERS, CONSUMPTION TAXES, CORPORATE INCOME TAX, CORRUPTION, CROWDING OUT, DEBT, DECREE, DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, DEVOLUTION, DIVIDENDS, DRINKING WATER, ECONOMIC COOPERATION, ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC SECTORS, EQUALIZATION, EVASION, EXCISE TAXES, EXPENDITURE RESPONSIBILITIES, EXPENDITURES, EXPORTS, FACTORING, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, FISCAL, FISCAL DEFICIT, FISCAL INCENTIVES, FISCAL MANAGEMENT, FISCAL POLICY, FISCAL PROBLEMS, FISCAL REFORM, FOREIGN INVESTMENT, FREE TRADE, GDP, GOVERNMENT RESOURCES, GOVERNMENT REVENUES, GOVERNMENT'S BUDGET, GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT, GROSS REVENUE, GROSS REVENUES, HEALTH SERVICES, HORIZONTAL EQUITY, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RESOURCE, HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES, INCOME, INCOME GROUPS, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME LEVELS, INCOME SUPPORT, INCOME TAXES, INDEXATION, INEFFICIENCY, INFLATION, INFORMAL SECTOR, INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INTEREST INCOME, INTEREST RATE, INTEREST RATES, INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS, INVENTORY, LABOR MOBILITY, LAWS, LEGAL PROVISIONS, LEGISLATION, MANDATES, MUNICIPAL PROPERTY, MUNICIPALITIES, NATIONAL LEVEL, NATIONAL TAXES, NET WORTH, OIL, OIL PRICES, OIL SECTOR, OPERATING COSTS, PENALTIES, PER CAPITA INCOMES, PERSONAL INCOME TAXES, POSITIVE EFFECTS, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, PRICE DECLINES, PRICE FLUCTUATIONS, PRIVATE SECTOR, PROVISIONS, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SERVICES, PUBLIC SPENDING, RESOURCE USE, RETAIL SALES TAX, RETAINED EARNINGS, RETIREMENT, REVENUE CAPACITY, REVENUE COLLECTION, REVENUE GROWTH, REVENUE SOURCES, ROYALTY, SALES TAXES, SOCIAL PROGRAMS, SOCIAL SECURITY, SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM, SOCIAL SERVICES, SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, SUBSIDIARY, TAX, TAX ADMINISTRATION, TAX ADMINISTRATIONS, TAX AUTHORITY, TAX BURDEN, TAX COLLECTION, TAX COLLECTIONS, TAX COMPLIANCE, TAX EXPENDITURES, TAX LAW, TAX OBLIGATION, TAX OBLIGATIONS, TAX PAYMENTS, TAX POLICY, TAX RATE, TAX RATES, TAX REFORM, TAX RETURNS, TAX REVENUE, TAX SYSTEM, TAXATION, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TOTAL REVENUE, TRANSACTION COSTS, TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPORT, VALUE ADDED, WAGES, WEALTH,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/07/1979346/mexico-country-economic-memorandum-challenges-prospects-tax-reform
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15377
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