Raising Revenue Right

https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/raising-revenue-right Governments across emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) face a growing fiscal challenge: how to finance essential public services at a time of rising debt burdens, higher interest costs, and uncertain external assistance. Yet the challenge is not simply about how much revenue countries collect. Tax systems in most EMDEs are also inefficient and inequitable, leading to costly economic distortions while failing to adequately support vulnerable households. Raising Revenue Right: A Roadmap for Domestic Resource Mobilization examines how countries can raise the revenue they need in ways that are more efficient, fair, and supportive of inclusive growth. The report introduces the concept of the fiscal frontier: the best possible combination of efficiency and fairness that a country can achieve for a given level of revenue and its underlying structural constraints. Its central finding is that many EMDEs operate well below this frontier—and that reforms can improve efficiency, equity, and revenue performance at the same time. The report offers a practical roadmap for domestic resource mobilization, showing how advances in technology, transparency, and trust—the 3Ts—can help countries move toward the fiscal frontier.