African Economic Outlook 2010

Domestic Revenue Mobilisation

“…These include economic factors, such as the level of income in a country, as countries with higher income per capita tend to have higher levels of tax revenues. Other economic factors including the level of consumption, the openness to trade, the size of the informal sector, or the composition of the economy by sectors also impact the level of the tax-to-GDP ratio (Addison and Levin, 2012 [18]; OECD, 2014 [5]; Profeta and Scabrosetti, 2010[19]). For example, countries with a higher share of agriculture tend to record lower tax-to-GDP ratios, whereas countries with more diversified economies often have higher tax-to-GDP ratios (OECD/AfDB/UNECA, 2010 [20]).…”

“…Together with non-tax revenues, they support the role of the government in providing public services, re-distributing income and implementing other fiscal policy concerns, such as securing sustained growth and encouraging desirable socio-economic behaviour (Wahrig and Gancedo Vallina, 2011 [1]). Relative to non-tax revenue sources, tax revenues are typically larger, more stable and less vulnerable to external shocks (OECD/AfDB/UNECA, 2010 [2]; Te Velde, 2014 [3]; European Parliament, 2014 [4]; OECD, 2014 [5]). As such, taxes are a critical input to governance and development.…”

“…The Global Revenue Statistics Database contributes to this goal by providing detailed comparable tax revenue data for 80 countries over the period 1990 to 2016, as well as unweighted averages in the African and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions, and across the OECD. 2 Together, these countries total nearly 60% of global GDP and provide a comprehensive basis for analysis across the four regions included in the analysis. 3 The database includes two key comparative indicators for all countries: the tax-to-GDP ratio and the tax structure (the share of a tax category in total tax revenue).…”

“…The database draws on the OECD classification of tax, which is common to all publications and harmonised with other major reporting standards including the System of National Accounts (European Commission et al, 2009 [11]), the European System of Accounts (European Commission, 2010 [12]), and the Government Finance Statistics Manual (International Monetary Fund, 2014 [13]). All data are reported at the general level of government, which includes central, and sub-national and social security funds data 5 .The database is updated four times a year as new data and country information become available.…”

Portugal

“…Switzerland, for instance, has pooled ODA with remittances from Albanian emigrants and with budgetary resources from the Albanian government to finance public service investments (e.g. solid waste management, water and sanitation) in the northern Albanian commune of Shkodra (OECD, 2010). A study of El Salvador households showed that subsidies for remittances used to pay for education led to increased educational investment, particularly for girls (Ambler et al, 2014).…”