Medium-Term Revenue Strategies as a Coordination Tool for DRM and Tax Capacity Building

Abstract

This chapter investigates the introduction of Medium-Term Revenue Strategies (MTRS) in developing countries as part of technical assistance for tax capacity building. The MTRS concept was devised by the Platform for Collaboration on Tax and is supposed to be a holistic high-level roadmap for tax policy reform around which civil society and external aid donors can coordinate. Tax capacity building for domestic resource mobilization has become a crowded governance field over the last decade with multiple bilateral and multilateral partners involved, sometimes in the same country. While there have been multiple high-level coordination efforts, within-country coordination is still lacking. As such, we investigate the concept’s usefulness as a coordination tool for donors to ensure their assistance is matched with a country’s needs and preferences. We also critically examine the concept’s potential pitfalls and deficiencies in terms of scope and ambition, partners, and legitimacy. We conclude that if the MTRS is evaluated as it is intended, an additional tool in the larger toolbox of coordination in the tax capacity building regime, the concept holds promise but calls for close scrutiny to ensure that they are truly country-owned and country-specific roadmaps.

Regional tax governance

“…Many collaborative relationships can be observed between regional tax organisations and actors such as bilateral donor countries, the OECD, UN, IMF, African Union, European Union, multilateral development banks and new global networked organisations such as the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) and the Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT). Together they respond to a growing demand from predominantly developing countries for tax capacity building and technical assistance, in the background of an increased international interest in domestic resource mobilisation (Lips and Lesage, 2021). The degree of activity and growth reflect member states' satisfaction with the services and networking opportunities the regional tax organisations provide.…”

Handbook of Regional Cooperation and Integration

“…Many collaborative relationships can be observed between regional tax organisations and actors such as bilateral donor countries, the OECD, UN, IMF, African Union, European Union, multilateral development banks and new global networked organisations such as the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) and the Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT). Together they respond to a growing demand from predominantly developing countries for tax capacity building and technical assistance, in the background of an increased international interest in domestic resource mobilisation (Lips and Lesage, 2021). The degree of activity and growth reflect member states' satisfaction with the services and networking opportunities the regional tax organisations provide.…”