IMF Tax Policy Seminar for Asian and Pacific Countries On Tax Incentives

Financed by Japan Administered Account for Selected IMF Activities (JSA)

June 9-11, 2009
Tokyo, Japan

This event has already taken place. The agenda below is for reference only. Upcoming events can be found here.

Both industrial and developing countries use tax incentives for realizing various policy objectives. In Asian countries, tax incentives have traditionally been used in efforts to attract foreign investment and spur economic growth. However, tax incentives are not first-best instruments to attract genuine long term investment. Tax holidays, in particular, which exempt companies in a certain sector or regions for some prescribed period, may pose significant dangers to the tax system not only in the countries that adopt them but also in their neighbors.

The IMF provides its member countries with advice on how the tax system, including tax incentives, can best be used to facilitate sustainable long-term growth. Use of tax incentives should be limited to quite specific circumstances under which their use can be economically justified; tax holidays should be avoided altogether.

The Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) hosted a seminar on tax incentives for Asia - Pacific countries, in collaboration with the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, from June 9 to 11, 2009, in Tokyo. Senior tax policy officials from 22 countries attended the seminar. The main theme of the seminar was whether, and how best, tax incentives can be used to facilitate sustainable long-term growth. The seminar was delivered in five half day sessions covering: causes, benefits and risks of tax incentives; countries’ experiences in using tax incentives; tax expenditure analysis; tax policy lessons from the current financial crisis; and a synopsis of ongoing discussions regarding tax avoidance in international fora. The seminar was financed in part by the Japanese government through the JSA facility.


Disclaimer
This website contains papers and web links to papers that were presented at the conference. The views expressed in these papers are those of the authors only, and the presence of them, or of links to them, on the IMF website does not imply that the IMF, its Executive Board, or its management endorses or shares the views expressed in the papers.

AGENDA

Tuesday, June 9, 2009
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration
Opening Ceremony
9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Opening Address — Ms.Victoria Perry, FAD, IMF
9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Welcome Address — Mr. Akira Ariyoshi, Director, OAP, IMF
Session 1: Causes, Benefits and Risks of Business Tax Incentives
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Presentation — Mr. Alexander Klemm, FAD, IMF
10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Photo Session and Coffee Break
11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Panel Discussion
Moderator:
  -Ms. Perry, IMF
Panelists:
  -Mr. David Parker, Treasury, Australia
  -Professor Motohiro Sato, Hitotsubashi University
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch
Session 2: Countries' Experiences
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Presentations:
  -Ms. Xuebing Lin, Ministry of Finance, China
  -Mrs. Lawan Puwan, Ministry of Finance, Thailand
  -Nguyen Van Phung, Ministry of Finance, Vietnam
  -Mr. Vann Puthipol, Ministry of Finance, Cambodia
Moderator:
  -Mr. Kiyoshi Nakayama, FAD, IMF
3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Coffee Break
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Panel Discussion
Moderator:
  -Mr. Nakayama, IMF
Panelists:
  -Professor Tatsuo Hatta, President, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
  -Suzuki, Mitsubishi Corporation
  -Ms. Perry, FAD, IMF
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Session 3: Tax Expenditure Analysis
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Presentation:
  -Presentation — Mr. Joseph Minarik, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at Committee for Economic Development
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Coffee Break
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Panel Discussion
Moderator:
  -Mr. Klemm, IMF
Panelists:
  -Professor Shigeki Morinobu, Chuo Law School
12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch
Session 4: Tax Policy Lessons from the Crisis
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Presentation — Ms. Perry, IMF
3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Coffee Break
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Panel Discussion
Moderator:
  -Mr. Klemm, IMF
Panelists:
  -Professor Yoshihiro Masui, Tokyo University
  -Professor Masahiko Takeda, Hitotsubashi University
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Session 5: Ongoing Discussions in International Fora
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Presentation:
  -Mr. Takuji Tanaka, Director, International Tax Policy Division, MOF, Japan (Co-chair of Working Group on Harmful Tax Competition, OECD)
  -Mr. McAauley, Center for Tax Policy and Administration, OECD
Moderator:
  -Mr. Kiyoshi Nakayama, FAD, IMF
10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Coffee Break
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Panel Discussion
Moderator:
  -Mr. Nakayama, IMF
Panelists:
  -Professor Keiji Aoyama, Tsukuba University(Head of BIAC Japan branch)
12:15 p.m. - 1 Lunch