The United States has partnered with Paraguay to help the country effectively manage its revenues, which would enable Paraguay to better provide critical services to its citizens.

The help comes from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) and began in early 2014, the department said in an October 28 blog post. OTA advisers are working side by side with Paraguay’s tax administration officials to improve tax compliance; strengthen capabilities to detect corruption; make tax administration more effective; and promote tax compliance in key economic sectors, including financial institutions and telecommunications.

“Although it is still in the beginning stages, we are already seeing concrete results from OTA’s collaboration thanks to the commitment of our Paraguayan counterparts,” said Larry McDonald, the deputy assistant secretary of the treasury for technical assistance, in the blog post.

While factors outside their control, such as the country’s economic growth, do affect revenue collection, the Paraguayan authorities and U.S. advisers are encouraged that tax revenues have increased 18% over the past year, the department said.

To support the U.S. government’s commitment to reform, OTA plans assistance in each of its five core disciplines: budget and financial accountability, revenue policy and administration, government debt issuance and management, banking and financial services, and economic crimes, the department said.

OTA’s support for Paraguay is one of many projects in Latin America, Africa and Asia that aim to help a country mobilize its own resources and manage them as effectively as possible. The agency currently operates in 44 countries with 100 active projects.

Date: November 2, 2014

Source: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2359145&CategoryId=12394