Public Revenue Reporting and Monitoring

Public Revenue Reporting and Monitoring
The main sources of public revenue are:  Taxes and levies such as for e.g. income tax, property tax, sales tax, license fees, import and export duties, levies charged for services etc   Earnings from natural resources like oil, gas, minerals etc    Loans from other governments, the private sector, or international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and regional  development banks that must eventually be repaid with interest; and   Grants-in-aid from other governments, multilateral institutions, international donors, foundations, NGOs or private sector actors, often earmarked for particular humanitarian or development purposes.  Public reporting and monitoring involves three components: 1. Component one: Revenue transparency/reporting Governments release or publish financial information through various avenues such as web sites, financial statements and reports, press releases, public bulletin boards, community radio etc.            A first step for concerned citizens/CSOs is to determine what types of revenue reports are publicly available.  Request copies of these reports while keeping records of all correspondence.  Where access to revenue reports is limited, work towards the adoption of right to information legislation including access to public financial information.  Partner and build coalitions with sympathetic government officials, concerned NGOs, relevant international bodies and the media to encourage revenue transparency/reporting.  Find out and discuss how the government itself views its revenue base and what plans or strategies it has in place regarding taxes, revenues from natural resources, loans, grants, etc.  If possible, take a deeper look at each slice of the revenue pie. Consider how important, effective and reliable each one is as a revenue source in terms of their sustainability and equitability. 

 3. Component two: Monitoring revenues