Brazil’s state of Paraiba to strengthen fiscal management with IDB support

Bank approves 13th operation of PROFISCO II Program

Brazil’s state of Paraiba will improve its fiscal management, tax administration, and public spending procedures with a $38.4 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) PROFISCO II Program.

The program aims to support efforts to increase the state’s fiscal sustainability. The component related to fiscal management seeks to upgrade the management process and tools as well as the technological infrastructure, and raise the degree of accountability of public finances, strengthening the institutional performance of the agencies in charge of public fiscal management.

It will also finance steps to increase revenues, boost the efficiency of the tax and contentious-administrative management, and simplify the tax filing and compliance procedures. In order to strengthen public spending administration, the program will support moves to update public policy management, financial performance, and oversight of state-run companies, and to upgrade cost-management, public debt, and state investment processes.

Since 2008, the IDB has approved more than $1.3 billion in financing to help Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District streamline their fiscal management actions through the PROFISCO I and II programs. The latest loan, for the state of Paraiba, is for a 25-year term, with a 5.5-year grace period and an interest rate based on LIBOR.