On 27 March 2018 the OECD released the latest edition of the publication Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2018. The publication notes that tax revenues in the region fell in 2016, with an average tax to GDP ratio of 22.7%, 0.3% below the ratio in 2015. This is mainly due to a slowdown in economic growth in the region between 2012 and 2016, with declining commodity prices. A recovery in tax revenue collection is however expected in future years with a recovery in commodity prices and a better economic climate.  Economic growth of 2% to 2.5% is forecast for the region in 2018.

There was a wide range of tax to GDP ratios in the region, the lowest being Guatemala with only 12.6% and the highest being Cuba with a ratio of 41.7%. Brazil had a tax to GDP ratio of 32.2%. The largest source of revenue in the region was value added tax (VAT) which accounted for 29.3$ of total tax revenues. Taxes on income and profits raised 27.3% of total tax revenue in the region while other taxes on goods and services collected 21.2% of the revenue.

The report covers 25 countries in the region and is produced by the Inter-American Centre of Tax Administrations (CIAT), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the OECD Development Centre.