Is IMF Tax Policy Progressive?

Overview

The IMF has significant influence on the tax policies of developing countries through advice and conditionality, technical assistance and by setting global standards and analyzing global trends. Its rhetoric has become more progressive in recent years. This paper assesses the IMF’s tax advice to developing countries based on five country case studies (Ghana, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Senegal) over the period 2010 to 2015 and supported by a desk study of public IMF documents. It finds that there is a gap between the IMF’s commitment to leveraging fiscal policy to fight inequality, and its actual tax advice to developing countries.