2nd High-Level Regional Tax Conference

Day 1: 6 November 2023, Monday
9:00–9:25 a.m. (Philippine Standard Time)	Arrival and On-site Registration
9:25–10:15 a.m.	Welcoming Remarks Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Recorded Message Vitor Gaspar, Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Live (Virtual) Message Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President, The World Bank Group Opening Remarks Asia Pacific Tax Hub (APTH) Achievements to Date & Future Directions Fatima Yasmin, Vice President (Sectors and Themes), ADB Keynote Address Trends in Domestic Resource Mobilization and International Tax Cooperation Relevant to the Asia and Pacific Region Michael Keen, Ushioda Fellow, Tokyo College, University of Tokyo, and Advisor, APTH, ADB Moderator: Cigdem Akin, Principal Public Management Economist, Sectors Group ADB
10:15–10:30 a.m.	Group photo with ADB President and Vice-President, and Opening Session Speakers and Lead Organizers / Coffee Break
10:30–11:30 a.m.	Session 1: Tax Expenditures/Incentives Moderator: Steven Fahey, Senior Tax Administration Consultant, ADB Keynote Ruud De Mooij, Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF Presenters: Bangladesh Case Study Hossain Ahmed, Member (Customs), National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh An Evaluative Framework for Tax Incentives in Light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Irma Johanna Mosquera Valderrama, Professor, Tax Governance Leiden University, The Netherlands [Presentation Background Reading 1] [Presentation Background Reading 2] Q&A session
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.	Session 2: Gender and Taxation Moderator: Keiko Nowacka, Senior Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development), Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB Keynote: Hannelore Niesten, Gender and International Taxation Consultant, ADB Presenters: Pakistan Case Study Ardsher Saleem Tariq, Member (Reforms & Modernization), Federal Board of Revenue, Pakistan Philippines Case Study Teresita Angeles, Director IV (Deputy Commissioner), Bureau of Internal Revenue, Philippines Q&A session
12:30–1:45 p.m.	Lunch Break, Private Dining Rooms 2–4a and 6
1:45–2:45 p.m.	Session 3: The VAT: Can we do better? Moderator: Cigdem Akin, Principal Public Management Economist, Sectors Group, ADB Keynote: Michael Keen, Ushioda Fellow, Tokyo College, University of Tokyo, and Advisor, APTH, ADB Presenters: Australia Case Study Tim Renner, Director, International GST Risk and Strategy Australian Taxation Office, Australia Italy Case Study Luigi Di Vetta, Tax Economist, Directorate for Studies and Research on Tax Economics, Department of Finance, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy Q&A session
2:45–3:45 p.m.	Session 4: Property Taxation Moderator: Kozue Ichiyama, Public Management Specialist (Taxation), SG, ADB Keynote Roy Bahl, Professor of Economics and Founding Dean, Emeritus, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University Presenters: Nepal Case Study Krishna P. Pathak, Senior Public Management Officer, Nepal Resident Mission, ADB Cambodia Case Study Taing Heang Boong, Deputy Chief of Capital Gains, Tax Bureau II, Department of Tax on Movable and Immovable Property, General Department of Taxation, Cambodia Q&A session
3:45–4:00 p.m.	Coffee Break
4:00–5:00 p.m.	Session 5: Panel Discussion on Climate Change, Fiscal Risk, and the Pacific Moderator: Hiranya Mukhopadhyay, Director, Sectors Group, ADB Panelists: Tiofilusi Tiueti, Minister of Finance and Minister for Revenue and Customs, and ADB Governor, Tonga Leah C. Gutierrez, Director General, Pacific Department, ADB  Rachel Thompson, Executive Director, Asian Development Bank Toru Kubo, Senior Director, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB George Mow, Head of Secretariat, Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association
5:00–8:00 p.m.	Dinner hosted by ADB, Staff Hub Haven