Fiscal Transparency Report

Fiscal transparency informs citizens how government and tax revenues are spent and is a critical element of effective public financial management.  Transparency provides citizens a window into government budgets and those citizens, in turn, hold governments accountable.  It underpins market confidence and sustainability.  The Congressionally mandated Fiscal Transparency Report (FTR) is a tool to identify deficiencies and support needed changes.  The Office of Macroeconomic Affairs (OMA) of State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (EB) prepares the annual FTR in consultation with State’s Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) .

As directed by Congress, EB/OMA evaluates data on fiscal transparency collected at 141 of our posts around the world (in those places eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance) against minimum requirements and publishes the results on the Department’s website annually.  To meet minimum requirements, governments must make key budget documents publicly available within a reasonable period.  They must be substantially complete and generally reliable.  Governments must also follow a transparent process for awarding government contracts for natural resource extraction.  For questions, please contact EB Fiscal Transparency at EEB-Fiscaltransparen@state.gov.