The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has reduced government revenues by about 14% in Southeast Asia where governments were already struggling to efficiently apply and collect taxes before the pandemic.

Countries face common challenges about their tax regimes prior to the pandemic, which include low levels of fiscal decentralization, limited tax progressivity, outsized contributions of the informal economy, international tax avoidance, underreporting and misrepresentation of business income, lack of administrative capacity, and excessive administrative burden of compliance.

The paper recommended policy actions in three broad areas: expanding the tax base, increasing tax compliance, and improving tax administration.

Contents

Challenges Facing Tax Regimes in Southeast Asia
Policies to Strengthen Domestic Resource Mobilization.
Conclusion

Published March 2021 
Source: Asian Development Bank

Download (60.41 KB)