This annual publication compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tokelau, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. It also provides information on non-tax revenues for selected economies.

This annual publication compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for 30 economies. Additionally, it provides information on non-tax revenues for selected economies. This tenth edition of the report includes a special feature on strengthening property taxation in Asia.

In the last three years, multiple global crises and the growing urgency of containing climate change have put current models of development co-operation to, perhaps, their most radical test in decades. The goal of a better world for all seems harder to reach, with new budgetary pressures, demands to provide regional and global public goods, elevated humanitarian needs, and increasingly complex political settings.

Half a century after independence, Bangladesh has achieved impressive progress. The country has transformed from one of the poorest nations into a global textile manufacturing hub capable of meeting its medical needs almost entirely through domestic pharmaceutical production.

In 2020, for the first time in history, the world's debt as a percentage of its gross domestic product exceeded 100%. Although it has come down slightly since then, there are concerns about where the next debt crisis will happen, given that Pakistan and Sri Lanka have already found themselves in debt crises. India's overall fiscal health and macro-economic conditions remain stable, but the same may not be completely true when the discussion shifts to India's subnational entities. In Debt Sustainability of Subnational Governments in India: Lessons from International Debt Crises, Dwivedi attempts to answer this question by analysing the debt sustainability of the states in the context of many emerging issues and challenges to their fiscal health with the aim of providing usable and practical recommendations that can ensure the fiscal health of the subnational governments in India and across the world. Focusing on the state or provincial governments, Dwivedi addresses the debt that the government undertakes to fund its programmes and examines whether such governments are indulging in taking excessive debt. Some of the aspects covered in the book include international experiences with excessive borrowings or debt creation and the learnings from these experiences, trends of state government debt (subnational debt), emerging issues that pose challenges to state finances, and recommendations to control debt from spiralling out of control.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has made significant headway on its development path over the past three decades. The country’s sustained economic growth has been led by booming commodity exports and substantial inflows of external financing. Many Laotians have seen significant improvements in their well-being. Poverty has declined as household income has increased, and many important development goals in education and health have been achieved. In the face of macroeconomic challenges, a shift from commodity-driven growth to a more inclusive prosperity paradigm that emphasises the creation of broad-based opportunities, human capital development and green sustainability can unlock Lao PDR’s future development. This report presents priorities for overcoming the country’s current fiscal constraints and finding ways to fund this shift. Recommendations address strengthening Lao PDR’s sustainable finance and debt management, revenue generation and tax reform, investment promotion, and data capacity in order to tap into green finance mechanisms.

Assessing how Asia and the Pacific can benefit from stronger tax systems, this comparative analysis drills down into the set-ups and performance of revenue bodies in 41 economies to highlight reform challenges and outline opportunities. Drawing on the results of the International Survey on Revenue Administration (ISORA 2022) survey, it provides background on each economy, details the performance of their revenue bodies, and looks at growing digitalization. The seventh edition in the series, it outlines major trends and sets out ways governments and officials can reform their revenue bodies to build more effective and efficient tax systems.

After a disappointing 2019, growth prospects in developing Asia have worsened under the impact of the current health crisis. Signs of incipient recovery near the turn of this year were quickly overthrown as COVID-19 broke out in January 2020 in the region’s largest economy and subsequently expanded into a global pandemic. Disruption to regional and global supply chains, trade, and tourism, and the continued spread of the outbreak, leave the region reeling under massive economic shocks and financial turmoil. Across Asia, the authorities are responding with policies to contain the outbreak, facilitate medical interventions, and support vulnerable businesses and households. Assuming that the outbreak is contained this year, growth is expected to recover in 2021. Especially to face down fundamental threats such as the current medical emergency, innovation is critical to growth and development. As some economies in developing Asia challenge the innovation frontier, many others lag. More and better innovation is needed in the region to sustain growth that is more inclusive and environmentally sustainable. Five key drivers of innovation are sound education, productive entrepreneurship, high-quality institutions, efficient financial systems, and dynamic cities that excite knowledge exchange. The journey to creating an innovative society takes long-term commitment and hard work.