11 Asian members identified EUR20.1 billion in additional revenue: Tax Transparency in Asia 2023 report

New Delhi [India], April 27 : Eleven Asian members identified 20.1 billion Euros in additional revenue, including tax, interest, and penalties, thanks to the exchange of information on request (EOIR) and Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI), including voluntary disclosure programmes (VDPs) and offshore tax investigations.
The Tax Transparency in Asia 2023 report, released on Thursday, is the first progress report of the Asia Initiative. It provides an overview of the progress achieved in Asia between 2009 and 2022, the year of the establishment of the Asia Initiative.
Asia Initiative is a regional programme launched in 2021 and focused on developing tailored solutions to ensure the implementation of the global tax transparency standards across Asia.
Twenty-two countries including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are Asian members of the global forum.
Automatic Exchange of Information is the systematic and periodic collection and transmission of "bulk" taxpayer information by the source country to the country of residence of the taxpayer, without the latter having to make a request for the same.
According to the report, 10 Asian members identified over 6.4 billion Euros as a result of EOIR and offshore investigations, while eight identified over 13.6 billion Euros through the use of Common Reporting Standard (CRS) data and VDPs launched prior to the first AEOI exchanges. The increase in the period 2020-2022 is explained by some Asian members which reported they had identified revenues, following the use of CRS data and VDPs. Not all Asian members were able to report on the revenues identified.
Asian members most involved in EOI have reported at least 20.1 billion Euros of additional revenues since 2009. This is certainly the low range, as not all Asian members monitor the impact of EOI in relation to Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) and not all Asian countries participated in the Tax Transparency in Asia survey.
Asian members have developed strong EOI networks. As of 2022, Asian members have entered into numerous regional or bilateral EOI agreements to foster tax cooperation among them. The total number of bilateral and regional relationships amounts to more than 1,350 agreements signed and in force. Thanks to the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC) these relationships amount to over 2,800.
Asian members have rapidly increased their EOI relationships and 19 are now parties to the MAAC. However, to reap the benefits of the wide network the MAAC offers, signatories must ratify it. Domestic ratification may sometimes be challenging, and more assistance may be required to expedite ratification procedures.
Disparities exist between Asian members and 94 per cent of the requests sent between 2009 and 2022 originated from only five countries. The fluctuation in the number of requests sent in 2018 results from leaks that prompted investigations and the first AEOI exchanges in 2017 and 2018. Of the 22 Asian members, 16 have committed to AEOI by a specific date: 14 have already exchanged CRS information under the AEOI standard since 2017, and two are committed to start their first exchanges in 2023 and 2024.
Tax Transparency in Asia 2023 retraces Asia's EOI journey from 2009 to 2022 and reflects the progress achieved in the past 14 years. It highlights areas necessitating more work and shows how the Asia Initiative may play a critical role towards more positive outcomes in the years to come.