A strong set of comparative data is key to facilitating fiscal policy dialogue and the assessment of alternative fiscal reforms. The statistical work presented in this website aims to provide internationally comparable data on tax levels and tax structures for a selection of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries to help with the task of fiscal policy makers.

The publication Revenue Statistics in Latin America, resulting from the collaboration of CIAT, ECLAC and the OECD, provides comparable data from 1990 to 2010 on tax levels and tax structures for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as data at the sub-national government level. It follows the model of the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending this OECD methodology to LAC countries enables meaningful cross-country comparisons of tax levels and structures not only among LAC economies, but also, for the first time, between them and their industrialised peers.

Revenue Statistics in Latin America is part of a more comprehensive programme (the LAC Fiscal Initiative), which fosters fiscal policy dialogue in the LAC region aiming to improve its taxation and public expenditure policies to support economic growth and income redistribution. More information about this programme can be found at www.oecd.org/tax/lacfiscal.

How do tax to GDP ratios compares between Latin American and OECD economies?

Latin American countries have made great strides over the past two decades in raising tax revenues as is demostrated in Revenue Statistics in Latin America. The difference between the OECD average tax-to-GDP ratio and that for the 15 LAC countries fell by 4.7 percentage points between 1990 and 2010. Despite these improvements, significant gaps between Latin America and OECD countries remain. In 2010 the average tax to GDP ratio for the selected LAC countries was 19.4 per cent compared with the OECD average of 33.8 per cent. Moreover, tax revenue for the 15 Latin American and Caribbean countries covered by the Report varies from Venezuela with the lowest percentage at 11.4% in 2010 to Argentina with the highest percentage at 33.5% (near the OECD average).

Find out more in Revenue Statistics in Latin America. The maps are for illustrative purposes and are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory covered by this map.