Activities

On 13–14 December, over 160 officials from Viet Nam’s General Department of Taxation in Hanoi learned about transfer pricing challenges of setting financial transactions, intangibles pricing, and risk-based approaches to audits. They participated in a hybrid workshop organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where ADB and OECD experts shared their knowledge about transfer pricing concepts and their practical applications.

Through RETA 9433 and the Asia Pacific Tax Hub, ADB supports Developing Member Countries (DMCs)' efforts to enhance their capacity for domestic resources mobilization by being better equipped in fighting tax evasion and aggressive forms of tax avoidance. If your DMC is interested in tax integrity support, email us. 

On 10–16 December, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held discussions in Yerevan with officials from Armenia’s State Revenue Committee and consultations with representatives of the private sector to finalize the new tax treaty guideline. The guideline seeks to improve the interpretation and application of tax treaties to prevent inappropriate use. Under RETA 9433, ADB is supporting Armenia’s efforts to protect the tax base against base erosion and profit shifting and enhance domestic resources mobilization by aligning administrative practices with international tax integrity standards.  

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) celebrated International Anticorruption Day with an interactive exhibit and knowledge-sharing session organized by the Office of Anticorruption and Integrity from 5 to 7 December at ADB Headquarters. President Masa, in his welcome message, reaffirmed ADB's commitment to upholding the highest ethical standards. He emphasized that as the region’s climate bank, it is ADB's duty to protect climate projects from corruption by practicing transparency, integrity, and honesty. The Green and Clean: Protecting Climate Finance from Corruption session included Bradley Hope, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, New York Times bestselling author of the Billion Dollar Whale and former Wall Street Journal reporter. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) joined over 65 delegates from 17 jurisdictions and six development partners at the 5th Meeting of the Asia Initiative and over 420 delegates from 115 jurisdictions and 13 international and regional organizations at the 16th Global Forum Plenary Meeting held on 28 November to 1 December in Lisbon, Portugal. 

ADB enabled non-member Developing Member Countries Lao PDR, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan to attend these meetings so they can better understand the impact of tax transparency on domestic resource mobilization and the expectations and benefits attached to the Global Forum membership. Participants welcomed the progress made under the Asia Initiative and the Pacific Initiative, supported by RETA 9433 under the Asia Pacific Tax Hub.

On 20 November, 120 representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s project executing and implementing agencies in Pakistan learned how to identify integrity risks and red flags as well as preventive and remedial actions. The hybrid session was part of the 3rd Integrated Capacity Development Training Program held in Karachi and organized as one of the ADB Office of Anticorruption and Integrity’s Integrity Learning Series under RETA 9703, which is tailored for participants exercising oversight functions and project responsibility. For similar training requests for your executing and implementing agencies, email us.  

The Philippines on 8 November became a member of the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD)/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), committing to various international tax standards and progressive tax reforms that will make the country conducive to private sector development and foreign investment. The country’s membership was facilitated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with OECD, as part of its support to the government’s implementation of BEPS minimum standards under the Domestic Resource Mobilization Program. Philippine Finance Secretary and ADB Governor Benjamin E. Diokno presented the government’s official letter of commitment to the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, represented by its Director Manal Corwin  

On 8 November 2023, more than 50 Indonesia Resident Mission staff and Asian Development Bank (ADB) project executing and implementing agencies participated in two integrity learning sessions designed to refresh their knowledge of ADB’s integrity framework, increase their awareness of potential integrity risks and remedial actions, and understand their role in the fight against corruption. The sessions are part of office’s Integrity Learning Series under RETA 9703. For similar training requests for your offices or projects, email us.  

On 8–9 November 2023, more than 120 tax officials, policymakers, and representatives of development partners from 39 jurisdictions, including 33 Asian Development Bank (ADB) Developing Member Countries (DMCs), participated in a hybrid regional consultation on international tax matters. ADB hosted the regional consultation, together with the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association, and the Study Group on Asia-Pacific Tax Administration and Research. 

Manal Corwin, OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Director, in her opening remarks, emphasized the importance of capacity-building support. The regional consultation built on the outcomes of previous ones conducted for Asia and the Pacific and also provided updates on the progress of the Two Pillar Solution to address the tax challenges of the digitalization of the economy and other international tax priorities such as tax incentives and Value Added Tax (VAT) on e-commerce.  

Through RETA 9433 and the Asia Pacific Tax Hub, ADB supports its DMCs in adopting and implementing international tax standards. If your DMC is interested in tax integrity support, email us.   

In an interview with the People’s Republic of China Global Television Network (CGTN), Asian Development Bank (ADB) Office of Anticorruption (OAI) Head John Versantvoort emphasized the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative for driving economic growth, bolstering regional integration and cooperation, and promoting anticorruption in Asia and the Pacific. The interview was held at the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation last 18 October 2023 in Beijing, People’s Republic of China (PRC). 

“As ADB, we think it is important that we align ourselves and support any global initiative that share our vision of an Asia–Pacific region that is prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. And for us, it is very heartening that the PRC, in its Belt and Road Initiative, is putting so much emphasis on cooperation on anticorruption,” Versantvoort shared.

Watch the full interview.  

The Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters of the United Nations held its 27th session at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland from 17 to 20 October 2023. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) participated as an observer, along with other Multilateral Development Banks. The session focused on advancing the Committee’s work to meet its 2021-2025 work plan. The agenda included taxing the digitalized and globalized economy, tax treaties, environmental taxes, health taxes, wealth taxes, extractive industries taxation, transfer pricing, among others.   

The Committee strengthens international cooperation on domestic and international tax matters by generating practical guidance for governments, tax administrators, and taxpayers to strengthen tax systems for sustainable development and contributing to customized capacity-building activities. It places special focus on the skills and capabilities of developing countries, including the least developed, small island states, and landlocked countries, which are also the focus of the ADB’s tax initiatives.