This is in response to the op-ed published in Asia Times on April 6, 2022, “ADB’s Asia Pacific Tax Hub a Trojan horse.”
The Asia Pacific Tax Hub is an open and inclusive forum for all ADB members of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), regional associations, and development partners engaged in taxation policy and administration in the region. It will help foster dialogue and provide capacity-building and technical assistance for members on a broad range of taxation matters, including international tax cooperation.
In a region with low tax revenues and the important efforts required in terms of public spending for recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate finance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), policy measures to support revenue-augmentation efforts is an important step in the right direction across ADB developing member countries.
When establishing the Tax Hub, the ADB conducted extensive consultations with its developing member countries to elicit their opinions and gauge their interest in the Tax Hub.
These consultations identified that developing members considered capacity-building on tax standards of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, with its 163 members across the globe, and the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, with its 141 members, as a key priority.
The Asia Pacific Tax Hub will keep abreast and promote other international tax standards that serve the ADB’s vision of a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and Pacific region.