Tax Policy in MENA Countries
In: IMF Working Papers v.Working Paper No. 15/98
This paper reviews trends in taxation and revenue in MENA countries over 1990-2012, with a focus on non-resource taxes. On average, non-resource revenues declined slightly, while resource revenues soared. Country experiences vary: rates of main taxes and their revenues tend to be higher in the Magreb than in the Mashreq, except for the value-added tax, where lower rates are associated with equal or higher revenue; most oil producers raise little tax revenues-generally less than 5 percent of GDP-and most have reduced them since the late 1990s. But there are similarities: unlike common experienc