The Guatemala Fiscal Administration Project
Contract Number: | 520-0371-C-00-0193 | |
GSURF Project Number: | ||
Project Director(s): | Roy Bahl, Jorge Martinez | |
Client: | Ministry of Finance of the Government of Guatemala | |
Location: | Guatemala | |
Amount: | $29,812.00 | |
Funding Agency: | USAID | |
Date: | January 1, 1989 – December 31, 1992 |
Project Summary
The Guatemala Fiscal Administration Project was a joint consortium between the Policy Economics Group of KPMG Peat Marwick and the International Studies Program of the Andrew Young School at Georgia State University. The goal of the project was to assist the Government of Guatemala in a comprehensive modernization of its system of fiscal administration. The Project had four specific objectives:
Improvement in the Allocation of Resources through: (1) identifying the underlying structural problems in the fiscal system that were not in step with the economic programs of the country, and that distorted economic choices in ways that caused losses to society; (2) modernizing, simplifying and improving the administration of the fiscal system, and eliminating the resource costs that operational inefficiencies impose on society; and (3) providing better information to assist government officials in making fiscal decisions.
Create greater Fairness in the Distribution of Tax Burdens and Expenditure Benefits by development of a more horizontally equitable fiscal administration system whereby like taxpayers could be treated the same way.
Mobilization of Resources to Cover the Cost of Public Services through improved administration of the tax system and the system for delivering public services.
Improved Government Ability to Plan and Monitor its Fiscal Decisions that was accomplished by developing the institutional capability to continue this work. The project included a substantial training and data computerization program, as well as the development of analytic models. The purpose of these components was to put permanently in place within the Ministry, the capability to evaluate the implications for future revenue and expenditure, and for income distribution and growth, of changes in public policy or external economic conditions. These enhanced the Ministry’s ability to monitor the efficiency of its operation, and to plan its programs rationally.
Cutting across all of the objectives was the goal of decentralization. It was the goal of this project to promote decentralized participation in government decision making, strengthened capacity of local governments to finance and deliver services, and decentralized central government fiscal administration activities.
Based on the work of this project, the Guatemalan government passed a comprehensive tax reform passed Congress in 1992. The reforms broadened the base of the income tax and VAT collections increased as a share of GDP. It significantly improved horizontal equity of the tax system, it did not harm vertical equity, it eliminated harmful economic distortions and it simplified the tax structure, thereby facilitating administration and compliance.
Customs and Export Incentive Administration Reform
By Kenneth Stacey, February 1989 (Revised November 1989)
Taxation of Business, Commercial Policy, and Industrial Policy
By Charles E. McLure, Jr., February 1989
Tax Administration
By Oakley Austin, February 1989
Public Enterprise Sector
By Melissa Birch, February 1989
Local Government Finances
By David Greytak, February 1989
Internal Indirect Taxation
By John F. Due, February 1989
Income and Payroll Taxes
By Jorge Martinez, February 1989
Tax and Fiscal Analysis and Modeling Capabilities
By Thomas Vasquez, Sergio Madrigal, and Francis Greaney, February 1989
Analysis of the Budgeting System
By Darwin Johnson and Jaime Porras, February 1989
Company and Individual Income Taxation: Structure and Administration
By Victor Thuronyi, July 1990
Indirect Taxation in Guatemala
By Melissa H. Birch and John F. Due, July 1990
Restructuring of the Corporate Income Tax in Guatemala
By Jack M. Mintz, February 1991
Marginal Effective Tax Rates on Capital Income in Guatemala
By George R. Zodrow, October 1990
Tax Incentives in Guatemala
By Fernando A. Ramos and Wayne R. Thirsk, May 1991
Computerization of Fiscal Administration in Guatemala
By Malcolm G. Lane, January 1991
Preliminary Report on the Taxation of Financial Institutions in Guatemala
By Gerard M. Brannon, November 1990
Fiscal Treatment of the Transport Sector in Guatemala
By Roger S. Smith, December 1990
The Taxation of Foreign Enterprises and Foreign Source Income
By John Mutti, March 1991
Improving the Budgeting Process
By Dale McOmber, March 1991
Guatemala Government Budgeting: A Survey of the Budget System and Practices
By Jaime S. Porras, April 1991
The Guatemalan Public Enterprise System: Selected Issues
By Melissa H. Birch, June 1991
Excise Tax Administration-Guatemala: Issues and Findings
By Kenneth Stacey, May 1991
The Property Tax In Guatemala: Its Present Structure and Future Prospects
By William F. Fox, September 1991
Training in Fiscal Policy Analysis and Fiscal Models
By Howard Nester, August 1992
The Guatemala Business Income Tax Model: User’s Manual
By Ned Newland and Stewart Beckwith, September 1992
The Guatemala Business Income Tax Model: Technical Manual
By Ned Newland and Stewart Beckwith, September 1992
Taxes on International Trade
By Daniel L. Wisecarver, October 1992
The Indirect Tax Model for Guatemala: User’s Manual
By Francis Greaney, Lorris Mizrahi, and Ranel Covert, November 1992
The Indirect Tax Model for Guatemala: Technical Manual
By Francis Greaney, Lorris Mizrahi, and Ranel Covert, November 1992
The Computable General Equilibrium Model for Guatemala: User’s Manual
By Carlos Bachrach and Ranel Covert
The Computable General Equilibrium Model for Guatemala: Technical Manual
By Carlos Bachrach and Ranel Covert
The Incidence of the Guatemalan Tax System
By Harvey Galper and Fernando A. Ramos, December 1992
The Guatemalan Tax Reform: Final Policy Report
By Roy Bahl, Jorge Martinez, and Sally Wallace, March 1994
Project Team
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Roy Bahl Emeritus Professor of Economics Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
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Jorge Martinez-Vasquez Regents Professor of Economics/Director ICePP Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
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Wayne Thirsk Former Visiting Professor Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy |
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Sally Wallace Professor of Economics Area of Expertise: Fiscal Decentralization, Tax Policy, Revenue Forecasting, Program Evaluation |
Other Project Team Members
Oakley Austin, Carlos Bachrach, Stewart Beckwith, Melissa Birch, Gerard M. Brannon, Ranel Covert, John Due, William F. Fox, Harvey Galper, Francis Greaney, David Greytak, Darwin Johnson, Sergio Madrigal, Malcolm G. Lane, Charles McLure, Dale McOmber, Jack M. Mintz, Lorris Mizrahi, John Mutti, Howard Nester, Ned Newland, Jaime Porras, Frenando A Ramos, Roger S. Smith, Kenneth Stacey, Victor Thuronyi, Thomas Vasquez, Daniel L. Wisecarver, George R. Zodrow,