The Philippines become 17th member of the Global Forum’s Asia Initiative

 

14/02/2023 - On 20 January 2023, the Philippines became the 17^th member of the Asia Initiative by endorsing the Bali Declaration, a call to enhance the use of tax transparency for sustainable domestic resource mobilisation in Asia.

The Asia Initiative was launched in November 2021 by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum). It aims at supporting the effective implementation and use of the tax transparency standards to fight tax evasion and other illicit financial flows, helping mobilise domestic resources and develop tax co-operation across the region.

"We are delighted to welcome the Philippines as the latest Asia Initiative member," said Mr Malhotra, Revenue Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of India, and Mr Utomo, Director General of the Directorate General of Taxation of Indonesia, Co-Chairs of Asia Initiative. "The enlargement of the Asia Initiative’s membership highlights the importance given to tax transparency in Asia, and the resolve of governments to come together to fight and prevent tax evasion and avoidance."

The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the exchange of information on request standard and the standard of automatic exchange of financial account information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive capacity-building programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.

» Read the 2023 Global Forum Capacity Building Report for more information on our activities in Asia and beyond.

For more information, please contact gftaxcooperation@oecd.org.