As you can see in the following graph, while government expenditures increased during the global crisis, revenues declined. This situation resulted in a budget deficit equivalent to 5% of GDP. Given this, the priority of the government is to regain the capacity to respond in a similar way to future adverse shocks, safeguarding fiscal sustainability. Moreover, we are concerned because high fiscal deficits could affect our macroeconomic stability.
In the absence of the approval of tax reform, the government made a great effort to sharply slow down the expenditures growth rate, which reduced the fiscal deficit. We recognize there are many challenges to this, but we believe we have the credentials to promote our candidacy to the OECD membership, which could work as a catalyst to promote and pass some of the reforms the country needs to undertake. Therefore, the OECD will be an enabling partner in Costa Rica's path to development.
Over the last year Costa Rica has increased its involvement in the OECD bodies' foreign initiative. We are participating in areas that showcase Costa Rica, like finance, within the OECD, where we can provide quality contributions.
Costa Rica will provide the organization with perspectives that may not currently be represented at the OECD: a unique case of a small developing country with sound policies and successful results. Moreover, our country has shown the commitment to move toward OECD standards such as fiscal transparency and public governance.
In 2012, Parliament approved legislation intended to reform the tax structure in order to incorporate all the elements and access to financial information that were requested by the international community: the Law of Compliance of Standards of Fiscal Transparency, and the Law Strengthening the Tax Administration Procedures.
Additionally, Costa Rica has 15 tax information exchange agreements with several countries including Canada. For different reasons, we would like to request the continued support of Canada in the OECD council's deliberations.
Moreover, Costa Rica could be a successful example to spread better practices and promote transparency among small and middle-sized—