Caribbean tax administrations are being asked to do more than ever before. As governments seek to mobilise domestic revenues, strengthen resilience and support sustainable economic growth, tax authorities are expected to deliver on an increasingly complex agenda while often working with limited resources.
These pressures are particularly acute for small island developing states (SIDS), which typically have highly open economies, limited administrative capacity and significant exposure to external shocks. Deciding which reforms to pursue, and how to put them into practice, is rarely straightforward. The experience of another jurisdiction facing a similar challenge can therefore offer a useful place to start.
The region’s differing economic structures and policy circumstances are also reflected in revenue outcomes. According to the latest Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the average tax-to-GDP ratio across the Caribbean sub-region declined by 0.2 p.p. to 22.3% in 2024 but has remained above the wider LAC average since 2017. Developments among the Caribbean economies varied considerably: the ratio rose following tax reforms in Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda, while it fell in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana as a result of very different economic factors.
These contrasting experiences underline why there is no single path to strengthening domestic resource mobilisation. Comparable data can help jurisdictions understand how their revenue systems are evolving, while regional dialogue allows officials to examine what lies behind the figures, compare approaches and identify responses suited to their own circumstances.
Alongside this exchange of experiences, there is growing demand across the Caribbean for practical, hands-on support. This is reflected in increasing interest in the OECD/UNDP Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) initiative, which provides tailored assistance to help tax administrations build expertise, address complex international tax issues and strengthen domestic resource mobilisation.
Complementing this technical assistance with opportunities for peer learning, the Caribbean Tax Outreach initiative was established as a collaborative platform for tax administrations across the region. In 2026, it brought together more than 950 participants from 22 Caribbean jurisdictions through five virtual events on e-invoicing, tax morale, VAT on digital trade, transfer pricing and tax data to exchange experiences and practical solutions on these regional tax priorities.
Addressing shared challenges in a changing tax landscape
Across the Caribbean, tax administrations are navigating an increasingly complex environment. Many jurisdictions are modernising tax systems, strengthening compliance and adapting to emerging international standards, while also ensuring that governments can raise the revenues needed to finance national priorities.
These challenges often reflect broader transformations affecting tax administrations worldwide. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are transforming how businesses operate and redefining how taxpayers interact with government. New international tax standards continue to reshape the global tax landscape. Caribbean jurisdictions are increasingly engaging in global efforts to strengthen tax transparency, tackle cross-border tax risks and implement internationally agreed standards through platforms such as the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. And at the same time, tax authorities are expected to improve services and operate more efficiently.
Many jurisdictions face similar challenges, but opportunities to discuss practical solutions with peers are often limited. Tax administrators are frequently confronted with the same questions: how can digital tools improve compliance and efficiency? What lessons can be drawn from jurisdictions that have already implemented reforms? How can scarce resources be directed towards the areas of greatest impact?
Since its launch in 2025, the Caribbean Tax Outreach initiative has provided a forum in which Caribbean tax officials can explore some of these practical questions with their peers.
“The Caribbean Tax Outreach initiative has demonstrated the value of collaboration among tax administrations across our region. The high level of participants in the sessions is a testament to their timeliness, relevance and value to COTA members. These sessions provided members with an important platform to share knowledge, exchange experiences and learn from one another; all reinforcing the importance of regional co-operation.
By working together and sharing practical solutions to common challenges, our tax administrations will become better equipped to build more effective, resilient and responsive systems that support our sustainable development.”
Ms Felicia Ellie, Deputy Comptroller of the Saint Lucia Inland Revenue Department and President of COTA (2024 – 2026)
Led by the Caribbean Community/Organisation of Tax Administrators (CARICOM/COTA), the initiative is delivered by the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA), the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), the International Monetary Fund’s Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC), the OECD and the World Bank Group. COTA provides an established platform for identifying shared challenges and pursuing opportunities for closer collaboration among Caribbean tax administrations.
From peer learning to practical solutions
A central feature of the initiative has been its focus on practical solutions to real-world tax administration challenges. Through discussions on VAT administration, taxation of the digital economy, transfer pricing, digitalisation and the Global Minimum Tax, participants have explored approaches that are already delivering results in jurisdictions facing similar circumstances. Across the 2026 event series, The Bahamas and Barbados showcased their VAT regimes on digital services, Belize and CIAT shared insights from their collaboration on e-invoicing, and the Dominican Republic and Jamaica highlighted progress in strengthening their transfer pricing frameworks.
For Caribbean jurisdictions these exchanges have helped broaden the range of policy and administrative options available to respond to evolving tax challenges.
Experience shared from beyond the Caribbean has also enriched these exchanges. Mauritius shared lessons from its journey towards e-invoicing implementation, offering practical insights for jurisdictions considering similar reforms. The Maldives highlighted how support provided through the OECD/UNDP Tax Inspectors Without Borders helped address transfer pricing risks in the tourism sector and generated an additional USD 4.5 million in revenue. Rwanda shared its experience of improving tax data collection to strengthen tax policy and administration.
These examples highlighted that many of the challenges facing Caribbean jurisdictions are shared by SIDS elsewhere. More importantly, they demonstrated that effective solutions could travel across regions and be adapted to Caribbean-specific contexts. By exposing participants to reforms that have already produced tangible results, the initiative has helped translate dialogue into practical learning and strengthened the capacity of tax administrations to address common challenges and identify where further support may be needed.
“For Caribbean tax administrations, regional co-operation is not simply about exchanging ideas; it is about strengthening our collective ability to protect our tax bases, mobilise the revenues needed for development and ensure that international tax rules take account of the realities of small, open and highly vulnerable economies.
The meeting in Guyana created an important space for tax administrations to move beyond general discussion and engage candidly on the practical challenges we face, the approaches that are working and the areas in which deeper co-operation is still required. The Caribbean Tax Outreach initiative gives structure and continuity to that effort.”
Mr Godfrey Statia, Commissioner-General, Guyana Revenue Authority and President of COTA
Building co-operation that lasts
Effective tax systems are fundamental to helping governments mobilise domestic resources to finance public services, invest in infrastructure, and support sustainable economic growth. They also help jurisdictions participate more effectively in an increasingly interconnected international tax environment.
The Caribbean Tax Outreach initiative forms part of the OECD's broader efforts to support tax and development. By combining regional ownership, peer learning and international expertise, it enables participating jurisdictions to identify and adapt solutions that reflect their priorities and circumstances, rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all capacity building model.
One of the initiative’s most valuable contributions is the network of relationships it has helped strengthen across the region. While it may sound modest, lasting institutional relationships matter. They create opportunities for continued collaboration, informal exchange and ongoing learning long after individual events are over. By bringing people together, the initiative has helped create trusted networks through which expertise, experience and practical solutions can continue to be shared. And importantly, these connections help ensure that international co-operation is shaped by the perspectives, priorities and realities of the jurisdictions it is intended to support.
“The Caribbean Tax Outreach initiative has been tremendously valuable to Tax Administration Jamaica, creating meaningful opportunities for peer learning, knowledge sharing and the exchange of practical experiences with our regional colleagues.
The relevance of the topics covered, and the insights shared have strengthened our own approaches, while supporting greater collaboration and capacity building across the Caribbean. It is a timely and important initiative that continues to deliver real value for Jamaica and the wider region.”
Mr Ainsley Powell, Commissioner-General, Tax Administration Jamaica
Beyond facilitating peer exchange, the initiative also helps Caribbean administrations engage more effectively with international tax co-operation efforts. As countries implement standards relating to transparency, transfer pricing and international business taxation, regional dialogue can help identify common challenges, share practical approaches and ensure that the perspectives of small island developing states are reflected in global discussions. In this way, the Caribbean Tax Outreach initiative serves not only as a forum for learning, but also as a bridge between regional priorities and the wider international tax architecture.
What’s next for Caribbean tax co-operation?
As Caribbean jurisdictions continue to navigate a changing international tax landscape, the need for co-operation, peer learning and co-ordinated support will only continue to grow. The initiative provides a structure through which officials can test ideas against experience, identify areas requiring further assistance and maintain dialogue with regional and international partners.
Technical assistance remains essential, but effective capacity building also depends on trust, regional ownership and sustained exchange of knowledge and expertise. And when that co-operation contributes to better-informed decisions, more capable administrations and more sustainable revenues, its significance reaches beyond the officials around the table. It reaches the people, businesses and communities those tax systems are there to serve.
