High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Reports
The High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report series provides high-level summaries of the assistance provided to IMF capacity development recipients, describing the high-level objectives, findings, and recommendations.
2024
February 5, 2024
Angola: Modernization of Income Taxation
Description: A capacity development mission of the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the IMF visited Luanda, during the period November 6-17, 2023, to provide advice on tax policy and administration reforms to modernize and improve the income tax system. The mission recommended moving from a highly fragmented toward a more unified approach to taxation of income, with all labor income aggregated over the year and taxed under a common progressive tax schedule. The mission pointed to opportunities for improving income taxes compliance approaches, including through the development of capacities to manage tax incentives and international tax risks.
January 30, 2024
Bangladesh: Ministry of Finance Macroeconomic Framework Technical Assistance: Scoping Mission Report
Description: The Finance Division (FD) of the MoF has sought Macroeconomic Framework Technical Assistance from ICD and SARTTAC to support them in improving their Medium-term Macroeconomic Framework. A scoping mission was held in Dhaka in January 2023 to diagnose the FD’s current forecasting and policy analysis systems and to agree on a multi-year action plan. The project action plan is centered around the customization of the Macroframework Foundations Tool (MFT), which will support the FD in overcoming significant limitations in their current approach. This note summarizes the main findings and action plan agreed on for the project.
January 8, 2024
Jordan: Health Spending Efficiency: Issues and Reform Directions
Description: This report reviews Jordan’s public health expenditure and develops options to enhance spending efficiency that support the government’s health and fiscal consolidation efforts. The particular focus of the mission was to provide support on: (1) overall health spending analysis, (2) support country efforts to develop and implement an affordable path to expand health coverage, (3) identify areas where the Ministry of Finance can build capacity and support reform efforts.
2023
December 5, 2023
Lebanon: Tax and Customs Administration: An Urgent Need for Intervention
Description: This summary provides an overview of guidance provided to Lebanon’s Ministry of Finance, its VAT and Revenue Directorates, and the Lebanese Customs Administration. Building on prior IMF advice, it conveys an urgent need for intervention to address loss of staff and a risk of failure with key IT operations in the respective agencies. Separately, the accompanying technical assistance report provides confirmation of broader reform and capacity development priorities for the next 36 months.
December 4, 2023
Republic of Kosovo: Public Investment Management Assessment Update and Climate PIMA
Description: Kosovo is working to improve its public investment management to support future economic growth and improvements in wellbeing. This assessment applies the IMF Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) framework, including the Climate-PIMA module. It finds that there have been improvements in Kosovo’s public investment management institutions since the original 2015 PIMA assessment. Nonetheless, there is room to continue to strengthen public investment management institutions and their climate sensitivity in Kosovo
November 13, 2023
Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Climate Public Investment Management Assessment
Description: Mauritania is working to improve its public investment management framework to boost the efficiency of public investment and to make it more adaptable to climate change. support future economic growth and improvements in wellbeing. This assessment applies the IMF Climate Public Investment Management Assessment (CPIMA) framework and updates an earlier Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) undertaken in 2020. It finds that there have been improvements in Mauritania’s public investment management institutions since 2020, while room remains for further improvement. Like most other countries, Mauritania is at an early stage of incorporating climate aspects into public investment management. Nevertheless, some good progress has been made, notably on the planning side. This assessment provides a progressive timetable for reforms, based on international good practice, striking a balance between the stated objectives of the authorities and the existing capacities within the public administration.
November 13, 2023
Republic of Moldova: Climate Module of the Public Investment Management Assessment
Description: Moldova has committed to an ambitious climate change mitigation and adaption agenda, which is underpinned by significant public investments, particularly in the energy sector which accounts for more than 2/3 of the country’s GHGs. The country is in the process of updating its public investment management framework, offering a window to enhance climate sensitivity of the framework, and of adopting regulation to align to EU standards. The Climate Module of the Public Investment Management Assessment (C-PIMA) proposes reforms across multiple areas, underscoring as priority areas project appraisal and selection and budgeting and portfolio management.
November 3, 2023
Peru: Central Bank Digital Currency Stakeholder Engagement
Description: An IMF mission visited Peru in June 2023. This mission was the third engagement with the Central Bank of Peru (BCRP) aimed at enhancing staff capacity for engaging directly with key stakeholders on strategic and policy matters regarding Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Building from ongoing virtual support, the mission initially assisted the BCRP to deliver a CBDC white paper, and a survey to gauge the reactions to a proposed CBDC. Also, the mission delivered an operating manual for guidance when considering innovation challenges as potential modalities for CBDC concept development. Off the back of the publication of the white paper, and on request of the BCRP, a physical mission worked with the BCRP to host an inaugural industry-wide stakeholder engagement on CBDC between June 19 and June 23, 2023. This strategic engagement marked a significant milestone for the BCRP, facilitating a candid assessment of stakeholder support for CBDC. Nine recommendations along three strategic themes surfaced from the robust and dynamic interactions.
October 25, 2023
Suriname: Financial Stability Report
Description: The technical assistance aimed to enhance the financial stability report (FSR) of the Central Bank of Suriname. The mission concluded that the preparation of detailed FSR production plan and communication strategy are critical and could facilitate improvements, promote the report, and bring some synergies between different teams involved. The report should reflect on all important elements of financial stability assessment and needs to be streamlined to follow the central story with the key messages. The quality of the report could be further improved by advancements in the employed analytical toolkit and utilization of all available data sources.
October 17, 2023
Zimbabwe: FSSR Follow Up Technical Assistance—Implementation of the Basel II/III Capital Framework
Description: The Financial Sector Stability Review (FSSR), which was conducted in November 2018, identified areas requiring improvement and technical assistance in Zimbabwe’s regulatory and supervisory frameworks, including the need to strengthen the capital framework for the banking sector. With the support of the IMF, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is planning to implement Basel III capital standards, considering Zimbabwe’s specific circumstances and applying proportionality. The mission reviewed Zimbabwe’s capital framework, which includes laws and regulations, identified areas for updating capital requirements, and discussed them with the RBZ management. The mission also made recommendations for drafting amendments that align primarily with the Basel III capital framework, particularly focusing on standardized approaches.