Help Developing Countries Increase Tax Revenues
Published: Wednesday, Oct 18th 2023, 10:10
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The Swiss government has launched a new program to help developing countries increase their tax revenues. The Swiss Tax Programme for Development (STP4D) will provide up to 28.5 million Swiss francs to fund reforms of tax systems in developing countries. Tax revenues in these countries currently make up only 10-14% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to 20-30% in wealthier countries. This is due to weaknesses in their tax systems, such as high tax avoidance, inadequate redistribution, lack of capacity in tax administrations, a large informal sector and corruption.
The STP4D program will build on existing work by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in tax systems of developing countries. It will also include important multilateral tax programs of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the OECD. The program will specifically support Ukraine in strengthening its tax system, which has been severely affected by Russian aggression. The program will be funded by resources for economic development cooperation and will make it easier for SECO to manage activities in the tax system and use resources efficiently and coherently. It will also improve communication with other stakeholders.
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