Corruption costs $1-trillion in tax revenue globally, says IMF
Fighting graft can reduce waste, help to lift test scores among public school students, as well as improve public trust in government, according yo new research
New York — Curbing corruption could generate about $1-trillion in tax revenues annually across the world, according to research from the IMF. In addition to increasing government revenue, fighting corruption can also reduce waste and even help to lift test scores among public school students, the IMF said. It also improves overall public trust in the government. “Less corruption means lower revenue leakage and less waste in expenditures, and higher quality of public education and infrastructure,” said the report. The pattern of lower corruption perception and higher revenues is maintained across developed, emerging and low-income countries, the data showed. “Among advanced economies, a country in the top 25% in terms of control of corruption collects 4.5% of GDP more in revenues, on average, than a country in the lowest 25%. The gap in revenue collection is 2.75% of GDP among emerging market economies and 4% of GDP among low-income countries,” said the report. Previous studies showe...
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