ATI Regional Workshop on Tax Expenditures: Asia

Given the urgent financing needs to fight climate change, address the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), tax expenditures constrain countries’ efforts to mobilise domestic revenues to meet these financing needs. If not monitored closely and assessed consistently, tax expenditures may jeopardise the transparency of national budgets and policies. As stipulated under Commitment 3 of the ATI Declaration 2025, members have committed to “improve tax transparency by publishing tax expenditures regularly to facilitate cost-benefit assessments, ultimately helping to reduce wasteful tax expenditures, improving taxpayers’ trust, and creating a more level playing field for all types of businesses. We will improve inter-agency cooperation on tax expenditures and foster the coordination of granting tax concession activities.

To that effect, the ATI, in collaboration with the Council on Economic Policies (CEP), the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Department of Finance (DOF) of the Philippines, is organising a regional workshop on tax expenditures with a focus on Asia. This event will take place in Manila, the Philippines from 01 to 03 March 2023.

The workshop builds on the ATI Commitment 3 and the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED), which was launched by CEP and IDOS in June 2021. With its worldwide coverage, the GTED helps to increase transparency on tax expenditures and sheds light on their critical role in tax systems around the globe. As shown by the GTED, the number of countries reporting on tax expenditures has been growing steadily over the years. However, the scope and quality of reports still vary significantly. Only few countries in the world have started to systematically evaluate the tax expenditures they use in order to find out whether or not the benefits obtained match the fiscal costs incurred.

The workshop in Manila, the Philippines, is the third in a series of regional workshops organised by ATI, CEP, and IDOS. On this occasion, the UNDP and the DOF will be joining as local partners. This event will provide a platform to the ATI members and other interested governments in the region to exchange with regional partners and international experts on the estimation, reporting and evaluation of tax expenditures. 

Attendance at this event is by invitation only.

More information will follow soon.