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Laying the Fiscal Foundation for Tunisia’s Growth.

Public Financial Management | Economic Growth and Trade
Middle East and North Africa

Fiscal Reform for a Strong Tunisia

Project Dates: August 2017 - December 2020
With greater simplicity, equity, and efficiency in its fiscal policies, the Tunisian government can foster sustainable and inclusive growth.

Recognized as the starting point of the Arab Spring movement, Tunisia’s 2011 revolution spurred unprecedented political and social transformation. USAID’s Fiscal Reform for a Strong Tunisia (FIRST) provides technical assistance and capacity building to the Tunisian government, particularly the Ministry of Finance, so that its fiscal institutions are well positioned for sustainable and inclusive growth following these political shifts. FIRST is supporting the Ministry of Finance to develop sound and fair revenue policies, as well as to modernize its tax administration. These efforts will make it easier for the Tunisian government to carry out its revenue collection mandate effectively and transparently. The project also looks for ways to make the Ministry of Finance’s actions more efficient, from social spending to priority investment to service delivery. In addition, FIRST works with the ministry to strengthen its strategic communications with policymakers and the public, particularly to increase the public’s awareness of and input to fiscal reforms.

Project Goals

  • Improve the efficiency, transparency, and cost of compliance of tax administration
  • Enhance the Tunisian government’s capacity to develop and manage tax policy
  • Strengthen the Tunisian government’s ability to address fiscal reform priorities as they emerge
  • Improve communications, engagement, and consultation on priority reforms
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The USAID Fiscal Reform for a Strong Tunisia (FIRST) Project provides technical support and capacity building to the Tunisian Ministry of Finance to strengthen Tunisia’s fiscal foundations for sustainable and inclusive growth.

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In 2014, Tunisia conducted its first free and democratic elections, a process that marked its smooth transition out of four years of political unrest but also highlighted the need for economic reforms.

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