Tax and Corruption
An Asia-Pacific Perspective

• Dr Bokhwan Yu, Deputy Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute
• Yuji Miyaki, Asian Development Bank
• David Linke, National Managing Partner- Tax, KPMG
• Professor Richard Dunford, Associate Dean International and External Relations, UNSW Business School, UNSW Sydney

Corruption, Complexity and Tax Evasion - Paper | Presentation
Dr Vito Tanzi, former Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Tax and corruption: An Australian perspective - Paper | Presentation
Tony Poulakis, Assistant Commissioner, Australian Taxation Office

This session will explore the relationship between tax and corruption from the broader macro-economic and social perspectives. It will consider issues such as the complex relationships between corruption, inequality and economic growth; and will consider the economic and social costs of corruption and how those may be mitigated.

• Corruption, inequality and economic development - Paper | Presentation - Dr Jong-sung You, Australian National University
• The economic and social costs of corruption and prospects for mitigation - Paper | Presentation - Dr Sanjeev Gupta, International Monetary Fund

This session will consider the relationship between tax and corruption from the perspective of three different but economically significant Asian countries: a developed economy (Japan), a transitional economy (China) and an emerging economy (Indonesia).

• Tax and corruption: A Japanese perspective - Presentation - Shinichi Nakabayashi, Asian Development Bank Institute
• By definition corrupt? The problem of typifying China’s weak tax institutions as ‘corrupt’ - Presentation - Professor Nolan Sharkey, University of Western Australia
• A new perspective for Indonesia: Developing an agenda to integrate corruption eradication and tax optimisation - Paper | Presentation - Yustinus Prastowo, Center for Indonesian Tax Analysis

This session will provide an opportunity for senior public officials from three very different emerging countries to identify the particular challenges that corruption poses for them in their jurisdictions, and to explain how the policies and strategies they currently adopt may be helping to combat corruption in their societies. The speakers will consider the following questions in relation to their particular jurisdictions:

• How serious an issue is corruption, with particular reference to the tax system?
• What forms does that corruption take?
• To what extent does the existing tax system help or hinder the removal of corruption?
• What strategies are currently in place to combat corruption within the tax system?
• How effective are those strategies?
• Are there other policies or strategies that could be adopted to help eradicate or mitigate corrupt activities?

• Challenges and Possible Solutions: The Revenue Department of Thailand - Presentation - Mr Pakun Tunmaneewattana, Tax Economist (Senior Professional Level), Thai Revenue Department
• Anti Corruption Operational Overview of Mongolian Tax Administration - Paper - Mr Luvsandash Zorig, Commissioner, General Department of Taxation, Mongolia
• Emerging Country Challenges and Possible Solutions - Paper | Presentation - Dr Alois Daton, Commissioner of Taxation, Papua New Guinea

This session will consider the topic of corruption within revenue authorities. The session will include a paper on best practice in Australia designed to detect and combat internal revenue officer fraud. Case studies will be used to illustrate the potential for, and threat of, corrupt activity at all levels of officialdom in revenue authorities in both developed and emerging economies.

• Applying best practice to counter corruption in a revenue authority: The Australian experience - Presentation - Bronwen Adams, Director of Risk and Intelligence, Fraud Prevention and Internal Investigations, ATO
• Causes and consequences of corruption in tax administration: An Indonesian case study - Paper | Presentation - Christine Tjen, University of Indonesia
• Tax and integrity: International case studies - Paper | Presentation - David Tansey, ADB and World Bank Consultant

Guest speaker: Michael Andrew AO, Head of the Australian Black Economy Taskforce and Chair of Board of Taxation; former KPMG CEO and Chair of B20 Anti-Corruption Taskforce

This session explores the relationship between taxation, the business sector and corruption. It will include a consideration of the role of multinational corporations and large advisory firms in creating a more ethical business framework in emerging countries; the relationship between corruption and tax avoidance; and an evaluation of the impact of petty corruption upon business activity in an emerging economy, with particular reference to the vital small business sector.

• The role of MNEs and advisers in promoting ethical business practices in developing countries - Presentation - Grant Wardell-Johnson, KPMG
• Is there a Relation between Money Laundering and Corporate Tax Avoidance? Empirical Evidence from the United States - Presentation - Professor Grant Richardson, University of Adelaide
• The impact of petty tax corruption on private sector development in Vietnam - Paper | Presentation - Professor Binh Tran-Nam, UNSW Sydney

This session analyses the impact of tax corruption in the international context. It explores the relationship between international taxation and corruption from a global perspective, including the role of whistleblowers and the media in uncovering tax corruption; the issue of whether it is international pressure or national concerns that are the key drivers of change in relation to the role of tax systems in countering corrupt activities; and the role of institutions such as the Asia Development Bank in mitigating corruption and promoting tax integrity.

• Corruption, the media and whistleblowers - Neil Chenoweth, Australian Financial Review and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
• Is sunlight the best disinfectant? - Paper | Presentation - Associate Professor Lisa Marriott, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
• Anti-corruption policy: Enhancing the role of the Asian Development Bank in relation to tax integrity - Presentation - Yuji Miyaki, Asian Development Bank

This session will continue the themes and issues identified in Session 3

• Challenges and Solutions for the Bureau of Internal Revenue - Paper | Presentation - Ms Celia King, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Philippines
• Susceptible Factors and Solutions - Presentation - Dr Seng Cheaseth, Deputy Director, General Department of Taxation, Cambodia
• Integrity Building in Tax Administration: Indonesia Context - Presentation - Dr Puspita Wulandari, Assistant to Minister of Finance for Tax Oversight, Indonesia

This session focuses upon policies, strategies and processes which may help to combat corruption in the tax context. It considers anti-corruption design and implementation issues for revenue authorities in developed and emerging economies; how behavioural insights research can be applied in the context of tax and corruption; public disclosure of taxpayer information as a means to reduce tax secrecy and in turn mitigate corruption; the impact of perceptions of corruption upon personal taxpayers in relation to their tax compliance in emerging countries; and advice to policy makers as a result of an analysis of the successes and failures of Asian countries in combating corruption.

• Applying behavioural insights to tax and corruption - Paper - Guglielmo Briscese, Behavioural Insights Team
• Reducing corruption through mandatory corporate tax disclosures: An exploratory case study - Paper | Presentation - Professor Kerrie Sadiq, Queensland University of Technology
• Perceptions of corruption and intentional non-compliance behaviour: Policy implications for emerging countries - Paper | Presentation - Arifin Rosid, UNSW Sydney and Directorate General of Taxation, Indonesia
• Combating Asian corruption 101: Advice for policy makers - Paper | Presentation - Professor Jon Quah, Anti-Corruption Consultant, Singapore