Guatemala Solidarity Network

In a recent article on the Inter Press Service, a new study is noted which targets taxation and government spending that argues the government is failing in its fiscal commitments to food, health and education.

'Guatemala has one of the lowest tax burdens in Latin America, as well as one of the most generous regimes of exemptions and tax breaks. The study attributes the low tax collection and expenditure to the state's historic control by elite sectors of the economy.'

The report, attempts to tackle the difficult question of why Guatemala has experienced consistent levels of inequality and deprivation despite having the largest economy in Central America and suggests that focusing on government spending and taxation is a relatively new method of addressing human rights and development. Taxation as a human rights issue?

The article can be found here.