Fiscal affairs
ECLAC participates in projects and conferences and cooperates in the drafting of documents in the field of fiscal policy with a view to fostering social cohesion and long-term economic development in the countries of the region. Some recent topics of study are countercyclical policies, good governance, the effects of fiscal policy on equity, direct taxation and decentralization.
Activities

PTLAC and South Centre
PTLAC-South Centre Webinar on Illicit Financial Flows and its relevance in the context of the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation
XXXV Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy
The XXXV Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy is organized by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), through the Economic Development Division. It is sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Regional technical workshop on tax expenditures
This workshop was organized by ECLAC at its Subregional Headquarters in Mexico, with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany. The objective of the meeting was to engage in a technical exchange between authorities and international organizations on tax expenditures and provide tools to strengthen their design, measurement, and accountability. As part of the workshop activities, an ECLAC report was presented on the measurement of tax expenditures in Latin America. At the opening of the event, Ms. Marita Brömmelmeier, Resident Director of GIZ Mexico, highlighted that the decades-long alliance that unites the German Cooperation and ECLAC, in this case through its project on Recover Better: Overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, " highlights the role of public policy to build consensus, focus efforts and resources for the sake of a more inclusive and friendly development for our climate and environment." Aware of the need to mobilize resources to finance sustainable and inclusive development in the region, this project aims, as Ms. Brömmelmeier said, to build "better understanding and analysis of tax spending to redesign and eliminate ineffective tax incentives for investment or identify tax expenditures that are inequitable or that promote economic activities that may be harmful to our environment and climate”.

XXXIV Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy
The XXXIV Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy is organized by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), through the Economic Development Division. It is sponsored by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
News

Latin American and Caribbean Economies Continue with Low Growth and Will Expand 2.2% in 2024 and 2.4% in 2025: ECLAC
In its last economic report of the year, the United Nations regional commission proposes a series of policies for the region to be able to escape the trap of low growth capacity in which it is caught.

ECLAC Will Update Economic Growth Projections for the Region’s Countries at the Launch of its Last Annual Report from 2024
The “Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2024” will be presented on Wednesday, December 18 at a press conference led by the United Nations organization’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.

Latin America and the Caribbean Need Better Fiscal Policies to Finance their Development
The OECD, ECLAC, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the European Commission launched their joint report "Latin American Economic Outlook (LEO) 2024."

Poor Investment Performance, Low Labor Productivity and Limited Fiscal Space Keep Latin America and the Caribbean in a Trap of Low Economic Growth
A new annual report by ECLAC indicates that the region’s economies will expand by 1.8% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025.