Tax policy officials in Asia discussed the scope for tax policy changes to increase domestic resource mobilization and identify tax reform options.

A key strategic and knowledge sharing event within the ADB project, Support to ADB Developing Member Countries to Combat Tax Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, this workshop is financed by the Domestic Resource Mobilization Trust Fund administered by ADB. This project aims to help mainly member countries of Study Group on Asian Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR), a regional cooperation forum for tax authorities in Asia and the Pacific and a collaboration partner of ADB, implement the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting package, protecting their tax bases and delivering increased certainty to taxpayers. The project delivers capacity building trainings and knowledge sharing across Asia and the Pacific to support SGATAR member countries. Participation in the workshop is extended to the People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Tonga.

The workshop provided an opportunity for tax policy officials from participating countries to share knowledge on international best practices, evidence-based policy processes, reviewing taxes which are underutilized, and monitoring tax incentives. The event focused on the development of tax policy strategies to enhance domestic resource mobilization. It addressed a series of questions:

• What tax policy reforms can contribute to domestic resource mobilization in developing countries?
• What are good practices in tax policy development?
• What are the gaps in existing policy framework in terms of knowledge, skills, processes, and access to data. How can developing countries strengthen their tax policy system through the design and implementation of evidence-based tax policy reforms?
• What are the priority tax reforms for domestic resource mobilization in the participating countries and how could these reforms be sequenced and implemented?