Wider societal agendas often have a direct correlation with the fiscal measures that governments deploy.

The relatively stable perception of Ecuador has weakened over the past few years, with a significant increase in organised crime contributing to this. A major government agenda will be to mitigate this rise.

A potential standard VAT rise in the country, from 12% to 15%, is expected to provide part of a solution to alleviate this measure, with the surplus revenues generated addressing this specific agenda. The proposal is currently with the National Assembly and could be effective as soon as 1 March 2024.

Ecuador currently imposes one of the lowest VAT rates in the region, and so an increased VAT rate is expected to bring it in line with some of its neighbouring countries.