Mexico City – Mexico needs "the mother of all tax reforms," according to United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (UNECLAC) executive secretary, Alicia Bárcena.

Bárcena made her comments last week at the opening of a UNECLAC conference in Mexico City titled "the Debt Crisis in Latin America 30 Years Later." "The most important reform will be fiscal," Bárcena said, adding that "without tax reform in the short-term, it will be very difficult for Mexico to achieve its economic growth goals." She said that the reform should deal with tax evasion and exemptions, increasing the tax take.

The Treasury and Public Finance Secretariat (SHCP) "is on the right track," she added. Tax reform policies are currently being pursued by the SHCP as part of the President Enrique Peña Nieto’s inter- party "Pact for Mexico." Bárcena said that reform plays an important role in the redistribution of wealth.

"Those who earn the most must pay the most. That is the basis of tax, but the truth is that this is not happening." A progressive value added tax is relatively easy to impose, but it doesn’t necessarily benefit the population, she said, adding that Mexico needs to better understand the resources it has, and use them to finance development through a progressive tax policy.

"We need a state that is trustworthy and transparent," so citizens know how their taxes are being spent, Bárcena said.