Most Asian nations need to collect more tax: IMF deputy MD

Most Asian countries are not collecting enough tax to meet their goals and they need to boost revenue by taking steps at home and by working with other countries, the deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund said.

In much of Asia, the tax-to-GDP ratio “consistently” falls below the 15 percent ratio “associated with a significant acceleration of growth and development,” Mitsuhiro Furusawa said in a prepared speech in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The IMF is trying to help countries find ways to counter artificial shifting of profits and assets to low-tax locations, as well as to resist “damaging tax competition” with other nations, Furusawa said.

He also added that while the normalization of the Federal Reserve monetary policy has proceeded smoothly so far, it still poses a risk, especially in countries where private debt has risen over the past decade.