Open Knowledge Repository

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

The Changing Politics of Tax Policy Reform in Developing Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-02) Moore, Mick
Who shapes tax policy reform in developing countries? A wider range of political actors are beginning to exercise influence. A brief history in this report will explain who they are and how they operate.
Institutionalizing M&E systems in Latin American and Caribbean Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-09) Burdescu, Ruxandra; del Villar, Azul; Mackay, Keith; Rojas, Fernando; Saavedra, Jaime
Countries are driving the efforts to institutionalize monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. Through the promotion of knowledge-sharing, and by taking stock of current M&E systems, fostering South-South collaboration, raising awareness through presentations, and, by launching an informal regional network, the note reviews the cases of Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. It became evident from country experiences, that there is no single "destination" for countries. Some stress a system of performance indicators, while others focus on conducting evaluations (program reviews or rigorous impact evaluation (IE). And while some countries have created a whole of government approach driven by finance, or planning ministries, others are more focused on sector M&E systems. One key characteristic of most of the systems that are now at different stages of implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is that they are country-led efforts to institutionalize M&E, rather than donor-driven.
Financing Development Through Future-Flow Securitization
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-06) Ratha, Dilip
Securitization of future hard currency receivables, that is, converting them into tradable securities, can allow developing country borrowers with good credit to overcome sovereign credit ceilings, and raise financing in international capital markets. The note examines the case of PEMEX, Mexico's state-owned oil and gas company, which in 1998 issued oil export-backed securities that received higher ratings from international credit rating agencies than Mexico's sovereign debt. Relative to unsecured debt, securitization lowered interest rates on PEMEX borrowing by 50-338 basis points (0.50-3.38 percentage points). Another example offered is the case of Banco de Credito in Peru, whose overseas Master Trust in the Bahamas (an offshore account) makes principal, and interest payments, forwarding excess collections to its headquarters in Peru. To increase investor confidence, the amount of future-flow receivables transferred to the trust was set at 2.5 times debt service requirements. In 1998 this transaction setup received an AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's - higher than Peru's sovereign credit rating.
Strengthening Peru's Tax Agency
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-11) Taliercio, Robert; Engelschalk, Michael
The reforms were remarkably successful: by 1997 internal tax revenue had recovered to 13 percent of GDP-despite an extremely difficult political and economic environment-and 90 percent of large corporate taxpayers surveyed believed that taxpayer services had improved. The reforms had several key elements: granting the National Tax Administration Superintendency (SUNAT) meaningful administrative and financial autonomy, implementing radical personnel reform, investing in infrastructure and information technology, and generating public support. The reforms also forged a new relationship between taxpayers and the tax agency and committed to improving services. At the same time, the agency made clear its intention to enforce compliance with the tax code. SUNAT's experience offers several lessons for tax administration reform in other countries. First, the immediate efficacy of SUNAT as a semiautonomous revenue authority was due to a combination of several factors, perhaps the most important of which was a coupling of political leadership with managerial expertise. But Peru's experience also highlights pitfalls to avoid for other countries engaging in tax administration reform.
Promoting Good Governance with Social Funds and Decentralization
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-01) Parker, Andrew
Bad governance undermines development. Two important types of World Bank support for local governance are social funds and broadly based support for governments committed to decentralizing responsibility and power to local governments and other local institutions. But there are concerns that these two approaches, which address different elements of governance, sometimes work at cross-purposes. A study was therefore commissioned to examine the interaction between social funds and decentralization in Bolivia and Honduras (advanced decentralization), Peru and Zimbabwe (some decentralization), and Cambodia, Malawi, and Zambia (little or no decentralization). This Note is based on the findings of the study.