ABSTRACT
Among the thirty member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mexico has the lowest tax revenue of all. Compared to other Latin American upper-middle-income countries, Mexico's tax collection is one of the lowest, behind Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Tax collection difficulties in Mexico are not limited to the federal government. The common perception is that tax legislation in Mexico is more complicated than in other countries, and that this situation helps to justify tax evasion. Difficulties of tax collection are basically the result of the nature of Mexico's political system. With the defeat of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in the presidential elections of July, Mexico became unambiguously democratic. Compared to Chile and Argentina, Mexico has a more clumsy and expensive tax administration: it costs US$1.10 to collect $100, compared to $0.40 in Chile. In addition, Mexico uses 1,962 employees per point of gross domestic product (GDP) collected compared to 876 in Argentina.
