Helping Asia and the Pacific Finance SDGs by Using Domestic Resources

A year after its launch, the Asia Pacific Tax Hub continues to help developing member countries (DMCs) raise more domestic revenues and strengthen their cooperation on tax matters to finance their own development projects and programs.

The Tax Hub has done the following over the past year:

1. Preparation of medium-term revenue strategies (MTRS) and related initiatives
   • Co-hosted two virtual regional workshops on MTRS, which were attended by representatives from 15 DMCs, with the Platform for Collaboration on Tax,
   • Conducted Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) assessments on Pakistan (August 2021 in partnership with UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, International Monetary Fund (IMF), National Tax Agency of Japan, and the World Bank Group), Indonesia (training, February 2022), the Maldives (March 2022 in partnership with IMF), and Bhutan (September 2022 in partnership with IMF and the World Bank Group).
2. Toward automation of tax administration
   • Co-hosted two virtual events on digitalization with the Organisation for Economic and Co-operative Development (OECD), National Tax Agency of Japan, Study Group on Asia-Pacific Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR), and the World Bank Group (WBG). The sessions were attended by representatives from nearly 40 DMCs.
   • Published a number of publications and blogs,¹ including A Comparative Analysis of Tax Administration Asia and the Pacific,² Launching a Digital Tax Administration Transformation: What You Need to Know,³ and The VAT Digital Toolkit for Asia-Pacific.⁴
   • Supported Bhutan with the design of a roadmap for tax administration through digital transformation.
3. Proactive participation in international tax initiatives
   • Co-hosted four virtual Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) regional consultations with representatives from 46 DMCs, and four virtual regional meetings on the International Tax Pacific Initiative, with representatives from 15 DMCs in attendance.
   • Launching the BEPS 2.0 Helpdesk by the end of 2022 to assist DMCs on the technical building blocks of each of the BEPS Two Pillars.
   • Became a partner to the Asia Initiative supported by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
   • Supported Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Fiji, Georgia, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Viet Nam in crafting tailored programs to enhance international tax cooperation.

Beyond these, the Asia Pacific Tax Hub is also supporting DMCs, including Cambodia, Indonesia, and Nepal, with reforms to their property registration, property valuation, and local tax administrations.

The Asia Pacific Tax Hub has also published other knowledge products and blogs, including a Governance Brief: Tax and Social Protection⁵ and a Governance Brief: Taxation of Robots.⁶ A publication on carbon pricing and tax expenditure analysis will be released in the near future.

In all these, the Asia Pacific Tax Hub aims to develop awareness on the value and importance of domestic resource mobilization and international tax cooperation among all stakeholders, in hope to improve the steady inflow of funds to finance effective and timely delivery of public services.

The Asia Pacific Tax Hub is helping developing member countries raise more domestic revenues and strengthen their cooperation on international tax matters to finance their own development projects and programs. Join this webinar to learn more about the Asia Pacific Tax Hub.

To know more about domestic resource mobilization and international tax cooperation among ADB's members, see a list of publications.

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