Taxation is increasingly in the limelight as a development agenda item, particularly with the emergence of the G20 as the premier international forum. This volume highlights the challenges faced by the Asia and Pacific region regarding tax policy and administration. Partly reflecting the diversity of the region, the region’s voice still appears to be low in comparison with that of other regions such as Europe and Latin America. This book introduces ADB’s and ADBI’s active roles in assisting developing countries with respect to taxation. In addition, this book is an attempt to narrow the gap in understanding between development specialists and tax specialists. This publication, an anthology by contributors who have been involved in ADB’s and ADBI’s activities on fiscal policy and taxation in various capacities is classified into three groups: (i) bird’s-eye overviews that discuss tax and development issues in Asia and the Pacific; (ii) country case studies that present theoretical policy analysis of a particular economy; and (iii) another set of country case studies that share practical experiences regarding the tax system of a particular economy.

This book examines the present status, recent tax reforms and planned tax policies in some South and East Asia countries since the 1990s. The evidence is presented in a user friendly manner, but at the same time uses technically sophisticated methods. The main countries studied are China, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand. It is unique for being the first systematic treatment of the topic: hitherto, the information available has been widely dispersed and difficult to access. It should prove to be a natural companion to two previous books on taxation published by Routledge and also edited by Luigi Bernardi.

This report investigates how tax structures can best be designed to support GDP per capita growth.

This book examines the present status, recent tax reforms and planned tax policies in some South and East Asia countries since the 1990s. The evidence is presented in a user friendly manner, but at the same time uses technically sophisticated methods. The main countries studied are China, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand. It is unique for being the first systematic treatment of the topic: hitherto, the information available has been widely dispersed and difficult to access. It should prove to be a natural companion to two previous books on taxation published by Routledge and also edited by Luigi Bernardi.

This annual publication provides details of taxes paid on wages in OECD countries. It covers personal income taxes and social security contributions paid by employees, social security contributions and payroll taxes paid by employers, and cash benefits received by workers. Taxing Wages 2021 includes a special feature entitled: “Impact of COVID-19 on the Tax Wedge in OECD Countries”.

Tax administration improvements have contributed significantly to a doubling of China’s tax-to-GDP ratio and the substantial reduction in taxpayers’ compliance costs since the mid-1990s. This paper describes the key features of China’s tax administration and their evolution over the last 20 years. It also identifes emerging challenges to the tax system and areas where further tax administration improvements are needed to sustain tax revenue and reduce taxpayers’ compliance costs in the future.

This volume showcases the first comprehensive assessment of property tax in Asia. It provides authoritative data on legislation, tax administration practices, revenue statistics, reform proposals, new technology, and political debate to raise awareness of the potential for land-based revenue throughout these regions.

Ten specialists in the fields of tax law and public finance from Japan, the Netherlands, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam recently gathered in Leiden, the Netherlands to present papers and give lectures on tax law in those countries for the symposium `Tax Law in East and Southeast Asia Towards the 21st Century.' The meeting fostered the exchange of information on recent reforms of tax systems, with participants examining both differences and similarities and discussing further planned or necessary reforms for each country in East and Southeast Asia on the threshold of the 21st century. The papers collected in this volume were originally prepared for the conference. After the conference, contributors revised their papers on the basis of the discussions conducted. Giving due consideration to the comparison of tax systems in these areas, these revised papers emphasise themes such as tax structure, especially that of direct and indirect taxes; intergovernmental fiscal relationships; and recent reforms to and problems of tax systems. The result: an extremely useful and informative work which covers ground rarely covered before. Legal and other tax practitioners as well as academics will find this volume of great value.

There is a widespread concern that, in some parts of the world, governments are unable to exercise effective authority. When governments fail, more sinister forces thrive: warlords, arms smugglers, narcotics enterprises, kidnap gangs, terrorist networks, armed militias. Why do governments fail? This book explores an old idea that has returned to prominence: that authority, effectiveness, accountability and responsiveness is closely related to the ways in which governments are financed. It matters that governments tax their citizens rather than live from oil revenues and foreign aid, and it matters how they tax them. Taxation stimulates demands for representation, and an effective revenue authority is the central pillar of state capacity. Using case studies from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, this book presents and evaluates these arguments, updates theories derived from European history in the light of conditions in contemporary poorer countries, and draws conclusions for policy-makers.

Improved tax systems can help countries in Asia and the Pacific generate the resources needed to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. This report provides information on current tax administration practices in the region to help governments identify opportunities to strengthen their tax systems. It analyzes the administrative frameworks, practices, and performance of revenue bodies in 34 economies. The analysis was largely based on survey data gathered by the Asian Development Bank in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund.