Ángel Gurría, secretary-general of the Paris-based organization, warned against repeating the mistakes of the 2008-09 financial crisis, which forced governments around the world to cut back on services as the economy slowly inched back toward growth.
"In the face of this unprecedented crisis, countries are justifiably doing everything they can to support people and the economy. And they're rightly throwing out the fiscal rulebook," Gurría said in a video released online by the OECD. "There will be a need to bring those debt burdens down, but countries should not repeat the mistakes we made after the last crisis, and try to cut spending or raise taxes too early."
As much of the world slowly reopens as the pandemic subsides, the conversation has already begun to shift to questions of how to fill the massive revenue gaps triggered by the shutdown.
The European Commission is developing a corporate tax, potentially a one-time lump sum payment, to replenish a €750 billion ($841 billion) European Union recovery fund established to assist member states combat the virus and its effects. Many prominent economists and nonprofit advocacy groups have urged countries to go further and establish new forms of taxation such as wealth taxes and taxes on online activity, and new measures to combat tax avoidance.
As the U.S. and other countries try to hammer out an agreement on digital taxation at the OECD, many European officials have cited the pandemic lockdown as a reason to push ahead for taxes on the revenue from online activities.
Gurría said the global response to the coronavirus pandemic should mesh with other efforts that began before the disease.
"We have to ensure that the recovery is greener, more inclusive, more sustainable than before," he said. "We need to ensure that overcoming this challenge helps us to manage the other big transitions that we were already facing, notably climate change, digitalization and population aging."
He also emphasized the potential cost for young citizens.
"All countries still face the risk of a wave of bankruptcies and a surge of joblessness," Gurría said. "The price will, above all, be paid by the young, who are just entering the labor market. We must not allow this crisis to result in a lost generation."
--Editing by John Oudens.
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