While there has been an enormous growth in microfinance, with particular outreach to poor women, this has not compensated for the failure to increase access to a broad range of financial institutions for the majority of small-and medium-scale entrepreneurs (see chapter V). Fiscal space” has been restricted by the need to attract and retain mobile domestic and international capital, leading to a steady decline in the incidence of taxation on capital (ILO, 2008a). This has resulted in limited domestic resources to invest in structural policies which promote development priorities. Low levels of taxation hurt poor women in particular. Budgets at the national, local and provincial levels are an important mechanism for governments to ensure that women benefit from public-sector expenditures.