The Tax Programme of the OECD Korea Policy Centre (KPC) co-hosted the virtual Tax Seminar with OECD and Turkish Multilateral Tax Centre on 20-22 October 2021.

Strengthening tax systems in developing countries is a key priority and a core part of the Sustainable Development Goals set at the UN in 2015. Tax revenues raised in fair and efficient ways are required to meet the global development challenges. Many countries offer tax incentives with the objective of promoting investment in particular types of activities, sectors and regions or increasing investment overall.

With its agenda on "Tax Incentives for Investment: Promises and Pitfalls," the seminar focused on enhancing the understanding of how developing countries can utilize special tax regimes to promote foreign investment while stabilizing fiscal demand. The seminar introduced various tax incentives that might be utilized to promote investment in special economic zones (SEZs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It also focused on the best practices of tax incentives, effective governance, and monitoring of tax incentives.

The seminar was led by the following experts; Ms. Luisa Dressler (OECD), Ms. Vera Santomaninto (Italy), and Mr. Christian Valenduc(Professor UCLouvain/University of Namur). It was attended by approximately 60 tax officials from the Asia-Pacific countries.